Christmas Roadtrip
by Lilylulu
Summary: Cappie and Casey are finally together and set out on a cross country road trip to visit Cappie's parents over Christmas break.
1. And So It Begins

AND SO IT BEGINS

I have never been so happy and so upset at the same time in my life. I'm happy because I finally have my girl. It took us almost two and a half years to realize that we were meant for each other. She's been the one thing that has been able to bring a smile to my face these past two weeks. When I'm not around her I'm mostly sad or upset. It's not because I'm not around her, even though that does make me sad. It's because I miss my friends. My KT brothers are my family and I feel like three of my family members have just died. And then there is Evan. I don't know what the hell I'm going to do about that situation. I can't believe he did this to me and my brothers. I really thought our friendship really meant something to him. Evan always had a way of screwing with my life. Even when we were younger he was always the golden child trying to show he was better than me in every which way. I really didn't mind then, and I still don't mind now. That's the way that Evan is and nothing is really going to change the way he is. But he's responsible for the two times I have been the maddest in my entire life. The first time being when I saw him at the Greek Ball with Casey. I instantly became infuriated with him and that led to the epic brawl that we had. And now you have this situation. I wish I would have punched him the night he came over to my house to "talk" about things. Did he really expect me just to sit back and forgive him for what he did? Did he really expect me to understand why he chose his house over his friends? After he left I did think about what he said and put myself in the same position. In the end I probably would have chosen my house too. But the Kappa Taus are so much different than the Omega Chis. The KTs truly know what brotherhood means and I've never had a closer family in my life. The Omega Chis treat Evan like shit. I don't know. Maybe he sees something in them that I don't.

I'm trying to make Evan the furthest thing from my mind at the moment. Today starts the first day of Christmas break and the first break spending it with my girl. Casey and I didn't get to spend Christmas break our freshman year together. We were still young and going to opposite ends of the United States. We did call each other every day. And even with the time difference I dropped everything I was doing when she called just to talk to her. We finally saw each other once we came back to CRU and, well, let's just say it was a night to remember. Ah, the good times. OK, back to the present. The original Christmas break plans were for the two of us to go to Chicago and spend it with Casey's parents. I was actually looking forward to it. I have met her parents before and they are very nice people. But then my parents decided to call and throw a wrench into the plans. You see, I never really see my parents over Christmas break. I usually stay at the Kappa Tau house while they are out travelling the country in their spiffy, yet rundown, RV. Last year they actually stopped by CRU to see me and we had a little Christmas celebration at the house. It was a nice time and I enjoyed spending it with them.

Mom called a few days ago asking when I was going to come home for break. I was completely caught by surprise and really didn't know what to say to her as I already had my plans with Casey. Then mom started to cry and I instantly melted. Yes, I've always been a momma's boy so laugh all you want. The females find it very sexy about me. Anyway, mom explained how their RV broke down and they had to tow it back home to California. It's going to take almost a month to fix it because of some special part that needs to come over from Japan. And with the van also in the shop my parents have no car. So through her tears mom asked me to drive my Jeep home for Christmas break and leave it there for them to use. I argued with her at first explaining that I needed my Jeep here at school. But you know how moms are; they always have some sort of rebuttal to your arguments. I was pretty much fighting a losing battle. So in that instant I agreed to head back to California for Christmas break and bring them my Jeep. I know, looking back on it now it probably wasn't the best move to make but it was my mommy, I couldn't say no.

So two days ago I pulled Casey into my room to tell her what was going on. I had a hard time really getting her attention at first. I know finals were this week and everything but there was definitely something else going on with her that she wasn't telling me. I finally was able to get her attention focused on me and what I had to say to her. I had a hard time getting the words out of my mouth at first. I started off by thanking her for the invite to her parent's house and quickly realized that probably wasn't the best way to start the conversation off. She instantly became defensive accusing me of not wanting to go and spend time with her family. After her rant I was eventually able to get the truth out with a little raise in my voice. I hate raising my voice to her, she doesn't deserve that. She sadly sat on my bed and talked about how much she was going to miss me over the long break. I thought about how much I was going to miss her too and I felt a pain in my heart. I then suggested that she should come with me. I'm not sure where the idea came from but it seemed like the only logical thing given the situation we were in. She thought about it for a while and I was almost expecting a no out of her mouth when she opened it. But instead she said yes. I almost fell back onto the floor but she quickly jumped up and put her arms around me. She explained that she would take a crazy cross country road trip any day as long as it meant we could spend the break together.

So I have diligently been spending the last two days planning out our trip to Arcata, California. It, of course, is quite the hippy town but it's where my parents decided to call home so it was automatically mine too. They moved there just before I started college so even I really didn't know too much about the town.

According to Mapquest the total trip is around forty-five hours driving straight through. I knew I needed to come up with some stops and fun things to do along the way so Casey didn't get too bored. At first I considered finding a hotel in every state we were going to drive through so we could start a quest to have sex in every state in the USA. But I quickly realized that probably wasn't the kind of fun Casey would have in mind. Even though she would have enjoyed it. I am, of course, the best she's ever had. So instead I found some interesting and fun things to do in some of the cities along our route. I really hope she can see how much time I put into this. I would do just about anything for her.

I was putting my last bag into the back of my Jeep when she came walking up with two of her rolling suitcases.

"You got room for these?" she asked with a smile.

God I love to see her smile.

"Of course," I said as I went and picked up her bags and put them into the back of the Jeep.

"I called my parents and told them about the change in plans," she said.

I instantly cringed. Starting off the trip hearing about how much her parents hated me for taking their daughter away from Christmas was not my idea of fun.

"And surprisingly they were OK with it," she continued.

I turned around and looked at her, shock written all over my face. Certainly wasn't the reaction I was expecting.

"Wow," I said. "I thought for sure they would send Rusty over to beat me up or something after hearing the new plans."

"What would Rusty do to you anyway?" she said with a laugh. "He's not exactly a body builder."

"Very true," I replied.

I walked up to her and put my hands on the sides of her waist. She put her hands on my shoulders and looked up into my eyes.

"I really want to thank you for coming with me," I said. "It really means a lot to me."

"You're very welcome," she replied standing on her tiptoes to kiss me.

I think she meant for it to be a quick kiss. But I wanted to savor the kiss a little more. So I pulled her closer to me and deepened the kiss just a little.

"Ready to begin our journey?" I asked as I pulled away from her.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she replied.

I went over to the Jeep and opened the passenger door for her to get in. I ran over to the driver's side and got in once she was settled. I started the car and as we drove off I couldn't help but have the biggest smile on my face. I knew this was going to be an amazing trip, one that I hope neither of us would forget.

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**_A/N: OK so just a little warning.....I wrote this story in like just past couple of days so please excuse any grammar/spelling/tense mistakes. I tried to catch what I could in reviewing the chapters but I'm sure there are still some in here. Also, I'll warn you that I don't see myself as a very funny person but I do think there are some pretty funny moments in the story since it is from Cappie's POV. So bear with me if they aren't as funny as I think they are....hahaha._**

**_Hope you guys liked the start of the story! I'll post more up tomorrow......or maybe later tonight if I get some anxious readers :0)_**


	2. Indianapolis, Indiana

We weren't able to leave until five in the afternoon. Casey had some official ZBZ things to do in the afternoon that prevented us from getting an early start like I had wanted to. I made our first stop Indianapolis, Indiana. It was only about a three hour drive from CRU. The first three hours in the car were rather quiet. I turned on the radio just to have something fill the silence. Casey pretty much stared out the window. I wanted to talk to her. I wanted her to tell me whatever was bothering her. But at the same time I didn't want to start a conversation that we couldn't finish. Casey is the type of person that will come to you when she's ready to talk. I've learned that about her over the years. So I figured she would open up to me when she was ready to do so. At the same time though, I didn't want this to be a silent trip. I was hoping this trip could bring us even closer together.

I really couldn't find anything crazy or fun to do in Indianapolis so it was kind of nice we got there in the evening. The one thing I did find for us to go see was seen best in the dark anyway so it worked out perfectly. I first pulled up to the hotel I had reserved. Casey instantly looked at me as we arrived.

"Budget Inn?" she asked like she expected something better.

"It was the only thing I could find," I lied.

Yes, I hate lying to Casey and if you ask me, I really didn't lie to her. I merely told her a fib. I didn't want to give too much away of everything I had planned on this trip. Truthfully I had a nice hotel set up in Saint Louis for us but when Casey told me we couldn't leave until her sorority meeting was done I had to quickly throw Indianapolis into the mix. And since a lot of my money had already been spent on reservations and things in other cities we were going to visit, the Budget Inn was all I could afford tonight.

"I promise, things will get better as we go along," I said as I got out of the Jeep to check in.

A few minutes later we walked into the room. There was a king size bed and a TV that didn't even come with a remote control. Yeah, this place was a dive but it was only for one night. I looked at Casey who was really trying to hide her disappointment.

"Come on, let's head out of here and grab some dinner," I said as I reached my hand out to her.

She took my hand and we walked back to the Jeep. A few miles down the road I found a restaurant for us to eat at.

"So you've been awfully quiet so far," I said to her right after our food came. "Are you upset you're missing Christmas with your parents?"

"No, not at all," she replied. "I just have some things on my mind, that's all."

"And do you care to share these things with me?" I asked.

Casey looked up at me with a solemn expression on her face.

"You know you can tell me anything," I told her.

"I know," she replied. "Just not right now."

And that's all I got out of her during dinner. She quickly changed the subject to talk about Rusty and his silly grant project. Yes, I love Rusty like a brother but he was near the bottom of the list of things I wanted to talk about with Casey. I was actually beginning to get worried. Casey has always been able to talk to me about anything. I've always been like a best friend to her even when we weren't dating. Like when she was trying to make the decision to go to DC or not for the summer. I was the person she asked for advice and that part of our closeness seemed to be lacking out of our relationship at the moment.

After dinner I took Casey downtown. Beaver was helping me find something to do in Indianapolis and turned to Wikipedia of all things. Beaver loved Wikipedia. Anyway, he came across an ad for the largest Christmas tree and found there was a very large one in downtown Indianapolis. I looked into it and some websites said it was the largest in the world but others didn't. I really didn't care though. I figured it was something cool to see and take Casey to so I went with it.

We parked in one of the parking garages downtown and walked hand in hand to the site. I was surprised to see that it wasn't actually a real tree. It was lights coming down from a high tower that made it look like a tree. I looked over at Casey once it came into sight. Her eyes grew wide and she smiled. It was nice to finally see her smile. I squeezed her hand as we walked closer to it.

"That is just beautiful Cap," she said squeezing my hand back.

"Oh but certainly not as beautiful as you," I replied.

Casey looked at me and rolled her eyes. OK, yes, it was a cheesy line. But I got a little upset at her reaction because as cheesy as the line was, it was very, very true. Casey is the most beautiful object in the world to me. The softness of her skin, the boldness of her eyes and the smell of her hair all make my head spin every time I'm around her.

We found an empty bench as we were walking around the tree and I pulled her over to sit down. At first we just sat there staring at the lights and the many people who were walking by us. Eventually I turned to look at her as she did the same to me.

"I'm sorry I've been kind of out of it," she spoke first. "There's just a lot going on with the sorority that's taking up my mind."

"I understand," I replied. "But at the same time I really want this trip to be special for the two of us. It's Christmas break. We're supposed to leave all school and Greek life things in CRU and focus on enjoying our break. I feel like there is this wall set up between the two of us and I just wish it would go away."

Casey took a deep breath as she reached her hand up and brushed it against my cheek. Her touch sent shivers down my spine and I smiled slightly at her gesture.

"This is going to be an amazing trip for us," she replied. "And whatever sorority crap I was thinking about before is gone now. The only thing I'm concerned about is you and all the fun things we are going to do on this trip."

Casey then leaned her head forward and kissed me. At that moment I knew she was trying with everything she had to show me that I was her priority. I kissed her back and wrapped my arms around her waist tightly. I always seem to get lost in the moment when the two of us kiss. It was like all the people around us weren't there and it was just the two of us in front of this big, beautiful tree. However, we were quickly reminded that we weren't the only two people there when an old lady came up and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Do you mind?" she asked. "There are children around here."

I saw Casey's face become extremely red in embarrassment as I'm sure mine did too. I told the lady we were sorry and the two of us laughed hysterically at the situation as we walked back to the car. Now this was the Casey that I was waiting to see. The entire way back to the hotel she gabbed about the Christmas tree and how embarrassed she was when the old lady interrupted us. I barely got two words in but I didn't care too much. It was enough just to hear her voice.

I was afraid Casey's beautiful smile would go away as soon as she was reminded of the crappy room we were staying in. But I was surprised that she didn't have any change in her mood once we went into the room. She actually immediately pinned me against the door and insisted we pick up where we were before we were so rudely interrupted. This time I plunged my lips down towards hers before she could start. She was just looking up at me with the sexiest eyes that I couldn't help it. We eventually made our way over to the bed, removing several articles of clothing along the way.

I love having sex with Casey. Actually, I would say it's more making love. But I had a hard time calling it that because neither of us had said those three words to each other since we started dating this second time around. I think that we both know it deep down in our hearts but it's like our minds are too afraid to admit it out loud. I had to keep myself from saying it to her a couple of times while we had sex. It seemed like it was something natural for me to say because it's what I did when we made love our freshman year. But tonight in the Budget Inn was not the night for me to admit those three words to her. Along with fighting those words I had to also keep myself from laughing because the bed made a very noticeable creaking noise the entire time. I guess that's what I get for reserving a cheap hotel. Hopefully the next ones will be better.

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**_A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! Decided to post this chapter early this morning. Keep checking back because I'll get another couple up later today :0)_**


	3. Saint Louis, Missouri

I woke up the next morning with Casey snuggled into my arms. I leaned my head down and kissed the top of her head. The sweet scent of lavender from her hair overcame me and I couldn't help but smile. I ran my hand up and down her back and pulled her to me a little tighter.

"Good morning," she said and caught me by surprise.

"Morning," I replied. "I thought you were still sleeping. I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"You didn't," she said running her hand up and down my chest. "I was pretending to be asleep because I didn't want to get up."

"I have no objections to that," I replied as she looked up and kissed me softly on the lips.

"So where are we headed off to today?" she asked.

"Saint Louis," I replied. "It's only about a four to five hour drive from here so we have plenty of time to get there."

"So I don't have to move quite yet," she said putting her head back down on my chest.

"You never have to move," I replied softly.

I could tell she rolled her eyes again at my cheesy comment. It probably didn't bother me as much this time because I couldn't see it. But I still knew she did it because I just know Casey. That's why we're perfect for each other.

The two of us laid in bed for another hour before Casey got up. I held my smile as I watched her rush around the room to grab her clothes and put them on. It made me smile because it was something she did almost every morning after we had sex. I actually wonder why she does it. It's not like I've never seen her naked before. I've not only seen her but I have felt her naked body many, many times before. Her body is like a map I have completely memorized. I know every single curve and bump along the way. Maybe one of these days she'll feel comfortable walking around naked in front of me.

We were back on the road about a half an hour later. The drive to Saint Louis, Missouri was a little better than the one to Indianapolis. Casey was more talkative. We ended up getting into a long discussion about what happened with Evan. Casey took my side of course but I could tell she was a little bummed that Evan and I weren't exactly friends anymore. She's always held onto the hope that the three of us can become the three musketeers again like we were freshman year. I knew it wasn't going to happen. Not only have all of us grown up (yes, including me) but things were different between all of us personally. Freshman year everything was great because Casey and I were dating. I never saw Evan as a threat. But then she dated him and had that personal relationship with him that made me sick to my stomach every time I thought about it. And now Casey and I are back together again. Yeah, there was just too much love triangle drama between the three of us to ever go back to the way things were freshman year. I did take Casey's advice and encouragement to at least be civil with Evan next semester. But I made sure she understood clearly that the two of us probably weren't ever going to be friends again.

After about four and a half hours we arrived in Saint Louis. This time I pulled up to a Holiday Inn hotel. It still wasn't the top of the line but much better than the Budget Inn. Casey seemed pleased with it as she jumped out of the Jeep and went to check in with me. After dropping our bags in the room we made our way to the Saint Louis arch. There was no way we could go to Saint Louis without seeing the arch. We rode to the top and took in the sites of the city. Even though I knew this wasn't the most exciting part of our trip I still took in the romantic moment standing at the top with Casey. I was behind her with my arms tightly wrapped around her waist as the two of us stood silently taking in the view.

We eventually made our way back down to ground level and found a nice Italian restaurant to have dinner at. I was somewhat surprised when Casey paid for the bill. She insisted because I had paid for so much already and didn't want me to have to pay for everything. After some playful arguing I let her pay and the two of us headed back to the hotel.

Once back at the hotel Casey's mood changed. She changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed as soon as we got into the room. I could see the look on her face was troubled and I knew if she didn't talk to me about what was bothering her now we weren't going to have the best experience we could on this trip. So I stripped down to my boxers and crawled into bed next to her. I expected her to immediately roll over into my arms but she didn't. She laid there on her back just staring at the ceiling for a few minutes. I was becoming more and more impatient with her. I wished she would just start talking to me. Casey never had a problem opening up to me and I could tell it was killing her inside not being able to talk to me about whatever was bothering her. I finally took the initiative and turned on my side to look at her. I propped my head up on my one hand and moved her head to look at me with the other. I saw her eyes were glossed over and finally I couldn't take it anymore.

"Will you please tell me what is wrong," I said. "This is killing me just as much as it's killing you."

Casey continued to stare are me as she let a tear escape her left eye.

"Please?" I asked again sounding like a little kid asking his mom for a piece of candy.

Casey then turned on her side to face me. I tensed up a bit. I knew whatever she had to say didn't have to do with the two of us. I knew it had to do with sorority stuff. But it affected me any time I saw Casey in any pain.

"I have an issue," she said softly. "Something that I swore to my sisters that I wouldn't tell anyone. But you're the person I tell everything to and it's killing me not being able to tell you."

"Like I said before Case, you can tell me anything. Any secret you have is safe with me. I promise."

"I know," she replied.

Casey turned her eyes away from me and looked down at the bed. I let out a sigh in frustration. All I wanted to do was help her. I knew just telling me would decrease some of the stress she was having over this. But there was no way I was going to force it out of her. The more I tried to pry the more she would pull back. She eventually looked back up at me.

"I and several other Zeta Betas may be in a lot of trouble," she finally said.

I scooted a little closer to her and gave her my undivided attention, hoping she would continue. When she didn't continue I decided to speak.

"What kind of trouble?"

"Criminally," she replied.

"Criminally? What on earth could you girls have possibly done to get in trouble with the cops?" I asked.

"I believe arson will be the appropriate charge," she replied.

I leaned away from her just a little to try and piece together the clues she was giving me. Casey did this a lot. When she really didn't want to say anything she would give me several little clues hoping I would put things together on my own. I was pretty sure she was talking about the Gamma Psi house fire but had no idea how she and the Zeta Betas would be connected with it. Since I didn't know how to reply the only thing I could do is reach my hand up and wipe the tears that were streaming down her face. I knew she was scared and I wanted to let her know that she was always safe with me.

"Please continue," I finally said.

She took a deep breath before going on with the story.

"We broke into the Gamma Psi house after the Songfest scandal to try and find the judging sheets in Katherine's bag. While we were there Rebecca lit a candle to give some more light for us to see. Once we found the judging sheets we ran out of there and we're pretty sure the candle wasn't burned out. And then the Gamma Psi house went up into flames. I'm pretty sure we're responsible for it."

I could see how scared Casey was now as more and more tears began flowing down her cheeks. I responded to her by wrapping my arms around her and pulling her closer to me. I ran my hand through her hair as she cried a little more into my chest.

"It's OK sweetheart," I softly said to her.

In my mind I searched for more words to say to her but nothing came out. I was pretty sure she was overreacting just a bit but there was no way I was going to tell her that. I, personally, have been in trouble with the cops many, many times. Even if it was their fault the cops would probably go easy on them because it was essentially an accident. They would probably have to put together some fundraiser to help get money to build a new Gamma Psi house and get some sort of community service. Community service is the worst but I could always try to brighten things up by telling her about the cool orange vest she would get to wear. But probably not. Telling her those type of things at this time was not the best thing to do. I needed to be the sweet, compassionate Cappie she knew at this time.

"Case, you do know that the Gamma Psi house is the oldest house on campus," I said pulling her away from me so I could look into her eyes. "An electrical spark or a gas leak is probably much more likely to have caused the house to burn down. I just don't think a candle could have caused the entire house to burn down."

She just stared at me for a second before I saw the sides of her mouth tug up just a little bit. I knew what I had said made her feel a little bit better. And at that moment I kept going, hoping to change her lips into a genuine smile.

"And you know that I am always here for you," I said. "Even if the Zeta Betas caused the fire I will stand by you through everything. I'll even put on the neat orange vest and join you in the community service if you want. Because let's face it, no one wears that vest better than me."

And then I got the smile I wanted to see. It certainly wasn't anything huge but enough to let me know what I said made her feel even better. I smiled back at her as I pulled her back into my arms and squeezed her tightly. The two of us didn't say another word to each other for the rest of the night. I rubbed her back up and down for about fifteen minutes until I realized she had fallen asleep. I thought about everything that happened tonight before I fell asleep. I was so happy that she finally told me what was bothering her. I really think we can enjoy our trip a lot better now that she's less stressed and everything is out in the open. I became more excited by the minute until I eventually fell into a deep sleep also.


	4. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The next morning I was awakened by Casey's lips on mine. It took me a second to respond to her but as soon as I realized what was going on I began kissing her back. The next thing I knew our clothes were on the floor and we were laying there panting softly. Indiana: check. Missouri: check. OK, OK I know I said the whole sex in every state was a bad idea but that didn't mean I could have some fun to myself during this trip. I caught myself smiling as Casey looked up at me with a serious expression on her face.

"Cap?" she said softly.

I quickly wiped the smile off my face as I turned to look at her.

"I just wanted to thank you," she said. "I don't know why I didn't tell you about the whole fire thing earlier. You really made me feel so much better about the whole situation. And I want to let you know that it is officially out of my mind now. I am one hundred perfect here with you and Christmas break."

"Well I'm very happy to hear that," I replied. "And I meant every word I said. If for any reason you guys are at fault, you won't be alone in the situation."

"Thanks Cap," she replied.

The two of us spent most of the day on the road. Our next stop was Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was about an eight hour drive from Saint Louis so I didn't have anything planned when we arrived. Everything we were going to do was going to be the next day. The drive itself was the best yet. Casey seemed to be back to her old self. We talked just about anything and even found a ninety's radio station and sang loudly to some of our favorite songs growing up. I swear people were laughing at us from the cars that I passed by but I didn't care. I was having the time of my life. We stayed in another Holiday Inn which for some reason was even nicer than the last one we were at in Saint Louis. Casey and I grabbed dinner once we got into town and spent the rest of the night cuddled in our hotel room watching TV and a movie we ordered off of the pay-per-view.

We woke up early the next morning and headed to a western store downtown. Now I already owned a cowboy hat and boots but I knew for a fact that Casey didn't. So I had to take her to do some shopping before we could start our day. She, of course, picked out a pink cowboy hat which I think looked absolutely amazing on her. She also found a pair of brown cowboy boots much like mine. I paid for her new items and we were off to the ranch. I heard Casey gasp as I pulled up to the Rebel Hill Horse Ranch.

"Are we going horseback riding?" she asked excitedly.

"We sure are," I replied with a smile on my face.

I saw the smile that Casey got on her face and I knew this was one of the perfect things to pick. When we dated freshman year Casey and I had a discussion about horseback riding. I told her that I used to ride all of the time being out in the wilderness with my parents. She then admitted to me that she has never ridden one and how she always wanted to. Ever since she told me that I have always wanted to share a horseback riding experience with her. I was planning on taking her the summer after our freshman year when she came to visit me in California. But that didn't happen of course so I'm using this time to redeem myself.

We walked up to the stables and I had to admit that I was a little scared myself. Even though I have ridden horses in the past, I hadn't been on one in years. Since Casey was a first time rider one of the workers there took her out to educate her on how to control the horse. I almost asked to go also but being the macho professional I made myself out to be to her I realized I would look pretty dumb asking to go through the tutorial. So I stood back and tried to listen in. But I didn't learn much of anything at all. Once I saw Casey on the beautiful black horse she picked out, I became mesmerized. She looked more beautiful than ever with her pink cowboy hat on and her hair flowing in the wind behind her. She looked so happy giggling and becoming more familiar with the horse. One of the stable owners eventually interrupted my gaze and told me to pick out what horse I wanted to ride. I scanned the stable trying to find the friendliest one I could. I came across a brown horse named Mimi and thought she would be harmless with a name like that.

After Casey's education session we were both suited up and headed out towards one of the trails.

"This is so much fun," she said as we approached a stream for the horses to stop and take a drink at.

"I'm glad you're having a good time," I replied. "You certainly look like a natural when it comes to riding a horse."

"Well you're the pro," she said with a smile. "But I guess I'm doing alright for a beginner."

The two of us spent a couple of hours out on the trail. I almost forgot that we were on Christmas break. Even though it was a little chilly out there wasn't any snow on the ground. I could see green fields for miles and miles.

"So you didn't show me any of your cowboy moves," said Casey as we neared the stable on our way back.

"See, one hand, woo hoo," I said as I took one hand off of the reigns.

"Woo hoo I can do that too," said Casey as she took one of her hands off of the reigns.

I realized that I needed to probably do something more impressive to show off but I really had no clue what to do since it had been so long since I had been on a horse. The only thing I could remember was how to make the horse start to gallop and go faster. So that is what I did. The horse and I began to get further away from Casey as we entered the pasture. I saw the stable hands looking at me with worried looks but I knew what I was doing. I pulled back on the reigns to get the horse to slow down but to my surprise the horse didn't slow down. Instead she began jumping up and I suddenly became nervous. So much for showing off to Casey. Now I just felt like a complete idiot. And sure enough, a few seconds later I was on the ground. Right in a pile of horse shit. Wonderful. I stood up as the stable workers came running up to me and Casey became trotting over on her horse.

"Are you OK guy?" asked one of the workers.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied getting my bearings once on my feet.

One of the other stable hands helped Casey off of her horse once she got near me.

"Cappie, are you OK?" she yelled as she ran up to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I repeated.

She looked me up and down and began to laugh.

"What?" I asked her finding her reaction most inappropriate.

"I'm sorry," she said through her laughs. "But you are just absolutely covered in horse poop."

I turned around and tried to look at my behind. I couldn't see it but I knew it was completely covered. At that point I couldn't help but laugh too.

"Come here darling give me a hug," I joked as I walked towards her with my arms reached out.

Casey turned and ran away from me yelling at me to not touch her. A part of me wanted to playfully put my arms around her and tackle her onto the ground. But I was pretty sure she didn't want to be covered with horse poop also so I backed off and began walking towards the stable. I turned around and saw her slowly walking behind me, still laughing softly to herself. The nice people at the stable were able to find a pair of sweatpants and shirt for me to wear home so I didn't have to sit in the Jeep with all that crap on me. However, the only color of pants they could find was purple. I felt like Barney the dinosaur and probably looked as ridiculous as I felt. Casey couldn't keep herself from laughing pretty much the entire way back to the hotel.

"Sorry I kind of ruined the day," I said as we walked into the hotel room.

"Hey, I still had a great time today," Casey replied. "Actually you made the day probably more fun than it was meant to be."

"Glad you could have more fun at my expense," I said as I took the awful purple sweatpants and shirt off of me.

Casey came up to me and wrapped her arms around my bare waist. Shivers instantly went down my spine. I bent down and kissed her but it didn't last long. She quickly pulled away.

"I'm sorry," she said with a laugh. "But you still smell like the horse farm."

"Well I was on my way into the shower but you're the one who stopped me," I eyed her with a smile as I leaned closer to her again.

She put her hands on my chest and pushed me away.

"Go take a shower," she said as she went over and sat on the bed.

I looked at her one last time as I headed into the bathroom. I thought only about Casey as the warm water ran down my body. I have never had more fun with one person in my life than Casey. Not even Beaver and everyone knows how much of a trip Beaver can be. I guess my time with Casey is different than it is with Beaver. Not only do we laugh and have a good time but we also have the affectionate part. I love putting my arms around her tiny waist and pulling her close to me. I love feeling her lips against mine and when her tongue playfully moves around in my mouth. I guess overall I love her. And while in the shower I realized that this trip is my perfect opportunity to tell her so. I wasn't sure when or how I was going to do it but she needed to know. And I know she will say it in return to me.

As I began rinsing the shampoo out of my hair I quickly realized I wasn't alone in the shower anymore. I turned around to see a naked Casey in front of me, the water dripping off her body looking just about as sexy as she could get.

"I figured I would give you enough time to wash up and join you before you finished," she said as she stepped towards me.

"Hey, no complaints from me," I replied as I once again put my arms around her and kissed her passionately.

One thing led to another and well, you know. Oklahoma: check.

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**_A/N: Hope everyone is enjoying this story so far. And the best chapters are yet to come.....trust me :0)_**

**_Love to see your comments and reviews so feel free to do so._**


	5. Albuquerque, New Mexico

Casey and I tried to get an early start the next morning. But we were both pretty tired from the horseback riding the day before and didn't get out of bed until around eleven the next morning. After stopping for something to eat we were on the road headed towards Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was another eight hour drive so I hadn't planned for us to doing anything for the day. Our conversation in the car was mostly random at first. But then Casey asked me a question that caught me completely off guard. We had been sitting in silence for a few minutes just looking out the window at the open fields when I saw her turn and look at me out of the corner of my eye.

"Cap, do you think we have too much sex?" she asked.

I turned and looked at her briefly before returning my eyes to the road. I had no idea where her question had come from. At first I thought she was joking but she had a most serious expression on her face when I turned to look at her.

"I don't think you can ever have too much sex," I replied with a small smile. It was my attempt to be light about the situation but honest at the same time.

"I'm serious Cap," she replied. "I don't want our relationship based just on sex."

"I think sex is a big part of our relationship, yes," I stated. "But I also think we have a great emotional aspect of our relationship. Look how easy we are to talk to each other. We're like best friends with benefits."

"That's an interesting way to put it," said Casey with a small laugh.

"You do know that you are my best friend," I said turning to look at her. "There is no one I would rather be on this trip with than you."

"I know," she replied. "It's just weird for me to be in such a sexual relationship I guess."

"And why is that?" I asked somewhat confused.

"Well when we first dated freshman year we didn't have a whole lot of sex because it wasn't until towards the end of our relationship that we did it for the first time," she said. "Then sex with Evan was always planned. Usually on Sunday nights but there was always the occasional Wednesday night after his house meeting."

It took everything I had in me to keep from laughing when she talked about sex with Evan. Planned sex? That was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard.

"And my relationship with Max wasn't very physical either," she continued. "It's just completely different with us. We have sex like almost every night."

I paused to think about what I was going to say next. Yes, I would agree that Casey and I have a lot of sex. But when you're so physically attracted to someone it can't be such a bad thing.

"We don't have to have sex if you don't want to," I replied.

"No, that's not it," she said. "At least I don't think so."

I was becoming more confused by the minute. I thought our relationship was perfect and realized it was probably something I needed to say to her.

"Case," I said softly. "I think you are the most beautiful girl in the world. And I don't think there is anything wrong with the two of us having a very physical relationship. I enjoy it and from what I can gather you enjoy it just as much as I do."

"I do," she replied.

"Then what's the problem?" I asked before she had a chance to continue.

"Maybe there isn't a problem," she replied. "Maybe I'm just having an issue with it because it's something different for me. I love having sex with you because it's so much more than just having sex because we have such an emotional connection too."

"I think you just answered your own question there darling," I said as a turned to look at her.

"Yeah, guess I did," she softly replied with a smile.

I wasn't sure of what to say after that so I just reached over and took her hand into mine. She squeezed my hand which made me smile. We held hands the rest of the way to Albuquerque. We didn't arrive at the hotel until sometime after eleven and pretty much went straight to bed. I made sure I held her extra tight that evening and I wasn't going to initiate any moves to have sex after our conversation in the Jeep. It looks like my quest for sex in every state will be broken with New Mexico. But I guess I can live with that knowing Casey would feel more comfortable with our relationship.

One of the big things I found during my research on Albuquerque was that the city is known for hot air balloons. There is even a festival every year in the city. So I booked us an afternoon hot air balloon ride. I looked over at Casey as I pulled up to the field where all of the balloons were. She looked tense.

"What's wrong babe?" I asked putting my hand on her leg to get her attention.

"You do remember that I'm afraid of flying," she asked.

Oops. I guess that must have slipped my mind. Now I tensed up. I really wanted to do this but at the same time I didn't want to scare her or put her through anything she wasn't comfortable with.

"I must have forgot," I replied quietly. "We can go find something else to do I guess."

"No, no," she said putting her hand on top of mine. "I can do this."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "Because I'm really OK with doing something else if you don't want to do this."

She didn't reply. She just got out of the Jeep and shut the door. I did the same and the two of us walked up to the balloon we would be riding in. We stood there for about a half an hour while our guide explained to us how the balloon worked and some safety precautions we would have to take while in the air.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

I looked at Casey who was noticeably taking deep breaths to try and calm herself down.

"Excuse us for just a second," I said as I took her arm and pulled her off to the side. "Are you OK?" I asked her.

"No," she replied looking like she was about to cry. "But I really want to do this."

"it's just like flying in an airplane," I said to her. "And you've been on plenty of plane rides before."

"No it's not," she replied. "At least I'm completely enclosed in a plane. I could fall out of the basket at any time in this balloon."

"Honey, you're not going to fall out of the basket," I said softly as I put my arms around her. "I would never let you."

She looked up at me and smiled.

"Let's do this," she finally said as she leaned up and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

The guide and I helped her up into the basket and I followed in behind her. She jumped right into my arms as soon as the first blast of air was blown into the balloon. I smiled as I wrapped my arms around her as tightly as I could.

"It's going to be OK," I said to her. "Everything is going to be just fine."

We slowly made our way into the air. Casey continued to hang onto me for dear life. I absolutely loved having her in my arms. I caught myself a few times digging my nose into her hair to smell the sweet scent of lavender coming from it. Eventually I was able to pry my gaze away from her and look at the view from the balloon. I gasped at how beautiful it was.

"You really should turn around to get the full experience," I told her noticing her head was still buried into my chest.

"Just don't let go of me," she said as she slowly turned around in my arms.

She grabbed my hands and pulled them around her waist as tight as she could. I leaned my head down onto her shoulder to get as close as I could to her.

"You can open your eyes," I said as I noticed she still had them tightly closed.

"Wow," she said as she finally looked at the view.

"Isn't it amazing," I whispered into her ear.

I felt her shiver against me as I pulled her even closer.

"I have never seen anything more beautiful," she said. "I'm so glad I did this."

"I'm glad you did too," I replied.

Casey then surprised me by turning her head around and giving me a soft kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for keeping me safe," she said with a smile.

"You're welcome," I replied giving her a squeeze around the waist.

The balloon ride lasted a couple of hours and we saw everything from fields to mountains to deserts and even a few cities. Casey became more and more comfortable as the ride went on but she still never left my arms. And I didn't mind that at all. Like I said, I love holding her and I would be there to protect her for as long as she needed.

After having some dinner and going for a short walk around town we arrived back at the hotel.

"So where are we headed tomorrow?" Casey asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"The Grand Canyon," I replied sitting next to her.

"Have you ever been there before?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied. "But it was when I was like seven years old so I really don't remember it."

"Well I guess it will be a first experience for the both of us then," she replied leaning her head on my shoulder.

I wrapped my arm around her waist and leaned my head against hers.

"I'm really proud of you," I said.

"Proud of what?" she asked.

"Conquering your fears and riding in the hot air balloon," I replied. "I know it took a lot of courage to go through with it."

"I never would have been able to do it if it wasn't for you," she said softly as she lifted her head off of my shoulder and turned to look into my eyes.

"I was just doing my job," I replied brushing a piece of hair out of her face.

Then Casey leaned towards me and kissed me. It at first was a soft, light kiss. But eventually it turned into a more aggressive and passionate kiss. It took everything I had to not start ripping her clothes off. Instead I let my hands roam her body over her clothes like a good boy. But Casey was not being a good girl. She had her hands under my shirt brushing her fingers across my nipples which was starting to drive me crazy. I finally had to pull away, afraid if I let things go any further I may not be able to stop. But when I pulled away she just pushed me back against the bed and began passionately kissing me again. I hated how much of an effect she had on me. Just her lips kissing mine aggressively turned me on. I could sense a very cold shower in my near future. Casey pulled away and looked into my eyes. She began to play with the ends of my hair in her right hand.

"You do realize you are a very naughty girl Miss Cartwright," I said playfully smiling up at her.

Casey smiled back at me as she backed off of me. I was just about to get up and head into the cold shower I was dreading when she tore off her shirt and was right back on top of me.

"Miss Cartwright," I said in a husky tone as I grabbed the sides of her waist. "You are coming dangerously close to starting something I may not be able to stop."

Casey just shot me a sexy smile back as she leaned down next to my ear.

"Good," she whispered in my ear. "Because I don't want you to stop."

Her hot breath against my ear sent me over the edge. I wanted and needed all of her at that moment. And as we laid there in a naked tangle of limbs afterwards I couldn't help but smile on the inside. As much as the moment with Casey was amazing I couldn't help but put an imaginary check mark next to New Mexico on the list in my head. My streak was still on.


	6. Grand Canyon, Arizona

I forced myself to get up early the next day. It was only a six hour drive to the Grand Canyon so I figured we could get there in the late afternoon and sit and watch the sunset at the canyon. I scooted out from underneath Casey trying as quietly as I could to not wake her up. She turned over in the bed but still continued to sleep. I let her rest as I took my shower and got ready for the day. I then slipped out of the room and went to grab some breakfast for the two of us. She was sitting up in bed when I arrived back to the room with coffee and breakfast sandwiches in my hands.

"You really shouldn't leave without telling me," she said as I walked towards the bed. "I was worried sick when I woke up."

"I was just going out to grab us some breakfast, that's all," I replied handing her a cup of coffee.

She took it from me and smiled as she tasted it. I always knew exactly how she liked her coffee and I'm sure that's what she was smiling about. We turned on the TV and watched some talk show while we finished up eating breakfast.

"Ever wonder why people go on these kinds of shows?" Casey asked me.

"Yeah, talk about airing all your dirty laundry to the entire country," I replied.

"I never told anyone this," she said. "But I had a cousin go on one of these shows once."

"Really?" I asked turning to her becoming very intrigued. "And what exactly was she on the show for?"

"She brought two guys on the show to have them do paternity tests to figure out who the father of her baby was," Casey replied.

"And I thought my family was screwed up," I replied with a laugh.

"Hey now, she was like my fourth cousin once removed so don't go knocking on my family," she said somewhat defensively.

"I'm not putting your family down at all," I replied. "I actually love your family. You're parents are both very nice and you know Rusty is already like a brother to me."

Casey just nodded her head and looked down at her coffee.

"Cap, do you think your parents will like me?" Casey finally asked.

I was kind of taken back by her question. There was really no doubt in my mind that my parents wouldn't love her. Casey was all I talked about freshman year to them on the phone. I really wish she could have met them when we dated the first time. Mom was really excited for me when I told her we had gotten back together.

"Case, you have nothing to worry about with my parents," I replied. "I talk about you all of the time to them on the phone. They know how much I care about you. I know they'll love you as much as I do."

Oops. I didn't even realize what I had said until the words slipped out of my mouth. I pretty much told her in not so many words that I loved her. Not really how I had planned for it to happen. I looked at Casey to see if she had noticed what I had said. I saw a little flinch in her face so I'm pretty sure she did.

"Thanks, you made me feel a lot better. I can't wait to meet them," was all she replied.

And then Casey got up out of the bed and headed into the bathroom to take a shower. OK, so she was avoiding the subject. I wasn't quite sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. I saw it as a good thing because I pictured our moment of saying those words to each other in a much more romantic spot than sitting in a random hotel room in Albuquerque, New Mexico. But I saw it as a bad thing because she really didn't respond. Was it actually possible that she either wasn't ready to say the words back to me or even worse yet, didn't feel the same way? No, who was I kidding? I know Casey has really never stopped loving me. The same way that I never stopped loving her. I laid down onto the bed as my head was beginning to spin. Before now I was so confident in saying the words to her when I felt like it was the most romantic moment to do so. But that confidence had fizzled a bit after what just happened now. Damn.

We were on the road about an hour later headed to the Grand Canyon. The drive there wasn't exactly silent but I could tell there was definitely something different between the two of us. Casey looked out the window a lot more and her answers to my questions were a lot shorter than they were in the past. It was driving me crazy not knowing what she was thinking. I wanted for her to just give me some sort of clue that she either felt the same way or didn't so I knew to back off. But she was like a stone wall: cold, expressionless. But when I thought about the way we make love, the way she looks at me, the way she smiles at me how could I not see that she loved me? I had to take a couple of deep breaths as we pulled into the parking lot near the Grand Canyon. It was around five o'clock when we arrived and I could see the sun was already starting to set in the distance.

"Come on," I said getting out of the Jeep. "Let's go find a good place to sit."

She got out of the car and followed me around for a couple of minutes. There were several other tourists around also waiting to watch the sunset. I was trying to find a place for Casey and I to sit that was away from the other people. I finally came upon a flat edge that we could sit on. I sat down first and motioned for her to join me. She sat next to me and stared out into the canyon.

"The pictures I've seen of this place in books don't do it justice," she said. "This is just absolutely breathtaking."

"I know what you mean," I replied as I took her hand into mine and laced our fingers together.

I smiled when she squeezed my hand. It made me look over at her and her beauty instantly caught my breath in my throat. The dimming sunlight was reflecting off of her golden blond hair giving her the appearance of having a halo around her head. Her hazel eyes were wide as she stared out into the canyon and she had just the slightest smile on her lips that made me melt into an instant puddle of love right next to her. I really did love her, there was no denying that. And at that moment, whether she felt the same way or not, I knew I needed to tell her. I scooted closer to her as I took my hand away from hers and put my arm around her waist instead. I was just about to open my mouth and begin my speech when Casey spoke instead.

"Remember spring break our junior year?" she asked.

I looked at her and nodded my head, wondering what spring break had to do with the beautiful Grand Canyon we were now looking at.

"Right before we kissed on the beach we talked about looking into an uncertain future in the ocean," she said.

"Kind of crazy how a talk about an uncertain future led to a kiss with me huh?" I asked.

Each of us let out a nervous laugh.

"I almost feel like I'm in that exact same situation right now," Casey continued. "I'm looking out into a vast, empty canyon with you here by my side."

My heart plummeted down to the bottom of the canyon. Leave it to Casey to waste this beautiful moment talking about how uncertain the future is.

"And this time I feel more certain about the future than I ever did," she continued.

I almost had to ask her to repeat herself wondering if I really caught what she had said. Was she trying to tell me that she saw a future with me? I could feel my heart climb back up the canyon and leap back into my chest where it belonged.

"And what makes this situation different?" I asked. "I still don't have a major or a plan for my future. I'm still the same guy standing on that beach with you staring out into the ocean."

"But you're not the same guy," said Casey turning to look straight in my eyes. "That guy on the beach was into partying and just going with the flow in life. That guy on the beach was too afraid to let me know how he truly felt about me."

"Hey I believe you held your feelings back just as much as I did," I replied.

"True, but that's not the point I'm trying to get across," she said. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm not really sure what I want to do in the future when it comes to my career and all that stuff either. But when I look out at this canyon into my future I see someone there. Someone who I know, no matter what, will be a part of my future. And that someone is you."

At that moment I became overcome with emotion and somewhat speechless. Since my brain hadn't quite caught up with my heart to say anything I did the next best thing: I leaned in and kissed her. It was actually probably one of the most romantic kisses we had ever shared. Everything around us was a pinkish-orange color from the sun setting behind us. The kiss wasn't passionate or aggressive. It was light and loving. I gently cupped the side of her face with my hand as we continued the kiss.

"You're right Case," I said as I backed away from our kiss. "I'm not the same guy standing on that beach afraid to tell you how I feel."

I took a deep breath and stared deep into her eyes.

"I love you Casey," I finally said.

I looked at her yearning to see the expression she would have on her face once the words I just said had time to process in her head. And then as if her body was desperately holding both of them in, she smiled and let a few tears escape her eyes at the same time. I reached my hand up to wipe some of the tears away. She put her hand on top of mine stopping me as if what I was doing was interrupting her train of thought.

"I love you too Cappie," she said.

I could feel fireworks explode around me. She loved me too. She felt the same crazy, nauseous feeling I felt every time we're around each other. I leaned in and kissed her again. As we broke away we both turned back towards the canyon and watched as the rest of the sun disappeared behind the edge. The two of us were so lost in the moment. We really didn't even speak any words to each other. It was more of the feeling we had just being there together, touching each other, loving each other. Love. I was so excited to finally be able to use that word around her.

Just after the sun set the two of us were interrupted by a man tapping me on my shoulder. I turned and looked at him strangely. Casey and I weren't doing anything wrong like we were near the Christmas tree a few days ago. I had no idea what he wanted.

"I'm sorry to bother you two," he said. "But I was just wondering if I could have your e-mail address. You see, I was here taking pictures of the canyon when I spotted you two down here. I took some really amazing pictures of the two of you with the sunset and the canyon in the background and would be more than happy to e-mail them to you."

"Wow, that's really awesome," said Casey as she reached into her purse and got out a piece of paper and a pen.

She handed them to me and I wrote down my e-mail address for the man.

"I'll get these to you in the next few days," he said taking the paper from me.

"No rush," I replied. "I won't be checking my mail for a while anyway."

"OK," he replied turning away. "Sorry again to bother you."

"Not a problem at all," I replied. "And thank you for the pictures."

"You're welcome," he said heading back towards the parking lot.

Wow, I couldn't believe our luck. Having someone capturing the moment Casey and I said I love you to each other was more than I could have expected. I was actually anxious to see the pictures. I'm sure they would look amazing.

The canyon began to get darker by the minute so the two of us decided to head off to the hotel. We stopped in the hotel restaurant for some dinner and then headed up to our room. As soon as we got settled into the room I pulled Casey close to me and began to kiss her. I wasn't afraid to make any moves with her tonight. Tonight the two of us were going to do more than just have sex. We were going to make love.

I lost count after three or four as to the number of times we told each other we loved each other while we made love but it really didn't matter so much. What mattered the most was that Casey was officially the woman of my future. It didn't matter that neither of us were exactly sure what we were going to do after graduation. It didn't matter that her ten year plan wasn't the same it was junior year. I was now her plan and every time I replay her words in my head I still get shivers down my spine. Who knew the Grand Canyon would bring our true feelings out into the open. Thank you Arizona for everything you've done: check.

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**_A/N: Hope you guys like the cute C/C scenes in these past two chapters. Please review and let me know what you think! Happy Holidays!_**


	7. Las Vegas, Nevada

The next morning Casey almost acted like a completely different person. First of all, she couldn't keep her little hands off of me. I tried to make my way towards the shower like ten different times but she kept preventing me from doing so, not that I was complaining or anything. She also never stopped smiling. She was the perky, giddy, fun-loving Casey again. I knew the Gamma Psi house fire was still in the back of her mind but it was like she was able to push it even farther back in her mind once the two of us declared our love to each other. I have to admit I was on cloud nine also. I knew that I never stopped loving Casey but the fact that she now knew it made me feel the love for her like a million times more than before.

I hesitated in planning our next destination: Las Vegas, Nevada. I knew we just had to visit it being that it was less than a five hour drive away from the Grand Canyon. But Las Vegas is a crazy city where people do crazy things and I wasn't sure if Casey and I should put ourselves in that situation. But I had never been to Las Vegas before and I knew she hadn't either so there was no way we could pass it up.

Casey asked me where our next stop was when we left the hotel earlier in the morning and I told her where we were going through my clenched teeth hoping she would be OK with it. But I got the feeling she was more than OK with it as she threw her arms around me and jumped up and down when I told her. She said that she had always wanted to go there and was excited to be able to share it with me. So we pretty much drove straight through to Las Vegas. There was only one stop for a bathroom break because we were both anxious to get there.

I decided to go all out for Vegas. I booked us a room at the Bellagio which is one of the nicer hotels in Vegas. I also read that they have an amazing water fountain show outside the hotel and figured Casey and I would check that out later tonight. Casey's jaw dropped when I pulled up to the hotel.

"We're not staying here are we?" she asked.

"Of course," I replied. "If we're going to do Vegas we're going to do Vegas right."

We parked the car and headed into the hotel to check in. We took the elevator to the 11th floor and found our room. This room was absolutely amazing. We had a hell of a view of the city below us. Everything in the room from the bed to the pillows to the bathroom was also much more upscale than what we had been staying in. I knew I had made a good pick when I heard Casey gasp at the sight of the room.

"This is amazing Cap," she said. "It must have cost a fortune."

"It's really not a big deal," I replied. "I just used some of the Christmas money my grandpa sent me."

"So what should we do first?" she asked smiling at me.

"There is no time like the present to start a little gambling," I replied.

"Well let's go then," she said grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door.

We went downstairs to the hotel casino. I made a point to stop at the bar first. The two of us had gone the entire trip so far without an alcoholic drink. And what better city to start in than Vegas. I ordered her a lemon drop and a beer for myself as we made our way onto the casino floor.

"Let's do blackjack first," she said. "You were a big baller at the Omega Chi party last year. Let's see if you have the same luck in Vegas."

"You're on," I replied as we sat down at one of the tables.

I have to admit that I was pretty much a pro at blackjack. I taught myself how to count cards one summer at camp because I really didn't have anything better to do. I remember hustling just about everyone in my bunk for their secret stashes of candy. I even took Chambers for a hundred bucks that summer. I laughed on the inside thinking about Evan calling his mom and trying to explain to her why he needed a hundred bucks sent to him as soon as possible. I think he ended up telling her it was some mandatory sewer fee that the camp forgot to add into the bill. Evan's mom was always such a sucker. She sent the money via over-night mail the next day. And I promptly spent it on a six pack of beer from one of the older counselors. Hey, I was underage and stupid then. I believed him when he told me the six pack was eighty bucks and then he wanted a twenty dollar fee for his time. I'll never admit to how gullible I was at the time. Evan still thinks to this day I took the money home and put it in the bank. Ha, he was just as gullible as his mom sometimes.

As strange as it sounds, the more I got drunk, the better I started to play. I started off at the table pretty much breaking even which was better than losing of course. But over the next two hours, and about ten beers later, I was KILLING it. It got to the point where there was a crowd of people standing behind me rooting me on. Casey stood right by my side like my trophy wife looking gorgeous as ever. She started to play at first but when she lost all of her money she decided to just watch me for a while. I was surprised to see her slamming down the lemon drops too. She was probably on her fifth or sixth by the time I decided it was time to end the game. I cashed out in the positive of one thousand two hundred and fifty two dollars. Hard to believe when I only put two hundred dollars in to start things off with.

"I am so freaking proud of you," said Casey hanging off my arm as I got my money. "I can't believe how amazing you were."

"Yeah, I know," I replied smiling at her.

"Oh, oh, oh, we have to watch the fountain thingy before we go upstairs to the room," she said hitting the side of my arm rather hard to try and get my attention, which she already had. Yeah, she was just a little drunk.

"OK, I think, I think, I think," whoa, I had to stop myself and take a breath. Why did I always stutter when I got drunk? I continued after taking a deep breath. "I think we need to go outside to see it."

"That is such a good idea," she said. "You are soooo smart."

The two of us walked, well stumbled, our way out to the fountains in the front of the hotel. We managed to make our way to sit on a bench right in front of the fountains just as the show was beginning to start. It first started with some music and Casey began to freak out.

"Whoa! Where is that coming from?" she asked as she looked all around her like the music was going to come out and attack her or something.

"It's OK," I managed to say to her as I put my arm around her. "I think, I think, I think," Damn, stop that Cappie. "I think it's a part of the show."

"There you go being all smarty pants on me again," said Casey shaking her finger at me.

I just turned my gaze away from her to look at the fountains. I have to admit that the scene was very pretty. But I was so drunk that seeing all the shooting water made me more nauseous than anything. I looked back over at Casey. She had the widest eyes I had ever seen. Her expression reminded me of the first time the two of us got high freshman year. I had done it in the past but Casey was a complete virgin. She took a few hits and complained about how she didn't feel anything. So she kept going, despite my efforts to stop her. The next thing I knew I was protecting her from the all the evil trees in the world and the laughing cookie monster that lived under her bed. I had never seen anyone more frightened in my life. Man was I glad when she finally fell asleep.

I felt bad for not being able to really take in the awesomeness of the water show that just went on before us. And I'm sure Casey felt the same way too because she just continued to stare at the water, well after the show was completed. Finally, like a light switch you turn on and off, Casey shook herself out of her gaze on the water and looked at me.

"So what should we do now buuuddy?" she asked punching my arm again.

"Buddy?" I asked. "I thought I was much more than your buddy."

Casey ran her hands through my hair as she leaned over and kissed me on the lips. I guess that was her answer to show me that I was much more than her buddy.

"Come on, there's got to be some other cool things to do in Vegas," Casey slurred. "What do people do in Vegas besides gamble?"

"They get married," I said jokingly.

"OH YES!" Casey screamed as she stood up. "Let's go get married Cappie!"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, we can't get married," I said to her. "Our mommies and daddies would be so mad."

Casey instantly busted out laughing.

"You're so silly Cap," she said. "We don't need our mommies and daddies to get married. We just need you and me. And a minister. And a witness. But other than that, just you and me."

"Casey this is so, so, so, so crazy," I said. "I don't even have a ring for you."

"You could use the money you won to buy one," she replied.

"True," was all I could manage to say.

I couldn't believe my mind wasn't saying no to her. What in the heck was wrong with me? Maybe it was because my sober mind secretly would love to be married to Casey.

"Come on Cap," said Casey pulling me off of the bench. "Let's go find us a wedding chapel."

"Hold on," I said pulling her to a stop. "Why are we doing this?"

"Because we love each other," she quickly replied.

Apparently that was the only answer my drunk mind needed to hear. Because the next thing I knew I bought Casey a twelve hundred dollar diamond ring at the Bellagio jewelry store and soon after that we were at the Bellagio wedding chapel standing in front of a minister looking very much like Elvis.

"Dearly beloved we are gathered here….."


	8. Las Vegas, Neveda Day 2

I woke up the next morning, well afternoon actually, with the worst headache I had ever had. Now I've been hung over before, no doubt about that. But this was like twenty times worse. They must make the beer in Vegas a lot stronger than they do in Ohio because ten beers wouldn't have that kind of effect on me in Ohio. But I guess it really had to do with the fact that Casey and I hadn't really eaten anything since breakfast. So any alcohol we drank went right into our system to run wild and impair any decision making. I was completely out of it last night, not thinking like a rational person at all. I eventually was able to open my eyes wide enough to assess my surroundings. First I noticed that I was indeed naked so I could only assume a check mark could be placed next to the state of Nevada. I confirmed this by observing Casey next to me, completely naked also. I was about to wake her up to see if she had anymore recollection of last night's events than I did when something caught my eye. Her left hand was resting on my stomach and there, on her ring finger, was a diamond ring. All of a sudden the room began to spin as the events of last night came rushing to the surface of my brain.

"_Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to join in holy matrimony Casey and Cappie," the minister began._

_I looked into Casey's eyes as I squeezed her hands into mine. It had been a little less than an hour since Casey made the suggestion that we should get married. I thought she was totally joking at first. But considering that we are standing here now about to take that plunge I realized it wasn't a joke. She had the "engagement" ring on her hand during the ceremony. I put the word engagement in parentheses because I never really asked her to marry me, which made me feel somewhat like a pussy. How was I going to tell Beaver and the rest of my brothers that Casey was the one who basically asked, well told, me to marry her. That sounds very manly. Not._

_The minister said several other readings that I really didn't pay any attention to. Mostly because when I'm drunk I have a very one track mind. And at that moment Casey was the only track my mind was on. I could have cared less what Elvis was saying in front of me._

"_Cappie would you like to say your vows to Casey?" I finally heard him ask._

"_I love you Casey."_

_Yeah, that's all I said. Real smooth Cappie. Here you are staring into the eyes of the love of your life. You're supposed to tell her how you will always be there for her through sickness and health and richer and poorer and all that stuff. But instead you're almost mute and really don't vow much of anything at all. Yeah, I'm going to make a great husband. Thank god the minister picked up my slack and had me repeat some vows he had already prepared. So I guess I said them to her but the comprehension in my mind was very minimal._

_I was surprised to see Casey a little more prepared with her vows. She was able to say all that stuff about sickness and health without the minister's help. But I think she just cheated. She heard what the minister said to me and just copied. Don't let her fool you._

_Next came the part where the minister asks if we take each other as husband and wife and we say 'I do'. Simple enough right? Well, not so much. The minister asked Casey first and without much hesitation she said 'I do.' Then the minister turned to me and asked me the same question. I don't know what it was about that question but suddenly I got an image of Britney Spears in my head. Yeah, I know, not the image to have at the time in my head but she was there for a reason. Her image made me think about her quick Vegas wedding to Kevin Federline. No wait, that one wasn't him. It was the other dude. Some guy she went to school with or something. Anyway, things all of a sudden didn't seem right. I knew if we went through with this we would be standing in the 'annulment of marriage' line the next day wishing none of this had ever happened. _

_So when the minister asked if I took Casey as my wife I said 'I don't'. I'll never forget the look on Casey's face after I said those words. It was like I sucked all of the life out of her. I'm not really sure why my mind turned sober all of a sudden. But I was suddenly thinking clearer than I had been all evening. I knew I needed to explain myself to her. So I quickly thanked Elvis for his time and headed out of the chapel, pulling Casey along with me._

"_Cap, what's going on?" she asked as we stood off to the side in the hotel lobby. "I thought we were both all for this."_

"_It's not that I don't want to marry you Case," I said squeezing her hand. "It's just that our marriage shouldn't be happening like this. We've both had more than enough to drink tonight and I just know we're going to wake up tomorrow and regret this."_

"_Yeah, you're probably right," said Casey as she looked at the ground._

_I knew the two of us probably had some more to discuss about the situation but our minds were still hazy from the alcohol in our systems. I just wanted to get back up to the hotel room and sleep it off. So Casey and I walked hand in hand back to our room still thinking about the events of the night. When we got into the room Casey's mood suddenly changed from a sad little girl to a ferocious sex kitten. She slammed me against the bed and said a line that made my entire body shiver:_

"_Just because we're not husband and wife doesn't mean that we can't make love like we're married."_

And my guess would be we both passed out rather quickly after making love and here we are this afternoon, left to deal with our feelings and emotions about what happened the night before. I had just started to think about what I was going to say to her about the situation when she started to stir next to me. Damn. I had no words formulated in my head. I had no idea what to say. So I took the cowardly way out and I got up and pretended like I had to use the restroom.

Once in the bathroom I went to the sink and splashed warm water on my face. I then stood there and looked at myself in the mirror. I didn't recognize the man staring back at me. For the first time in my life I had no words for what I was feeling. I didn't even have a joke in me to try and lighten the situation. It had just hit me as to how serious of a situation Casey and I had gotten ourselves into last night. I was just a couple of minutes from becoming her husband. I didn't know the first thing about being a husband. But I guess the one thing that I did know was that I was madly, deeply in love with her. And maybe that's all I needed to be an amazing husband to her. But at this point there was no time to dwell on it. I stopped the wedding and now it was time to head out into the room and face the music.

I took a deep breath and slowly walked out of the bathroom. I stood there for a second just staring at Casey. She was now resting against the headboard and looking intently down at the ring on her finger. She began to twirl it around with her other hand. And then I caught it. She let out a small smile while she looked down at the ring. Maybe she didn't think everything was such a huge mistake like I did. I guess there was only one way to find out. So I walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. There was a calming silence at first. I looked at the floor as she continued to gaze at the ring.

"Pretty crazy night last night huh?" she finally asked.

"From what I remember," I replied.

"Yeah, I can relate," she stated. "But I strangely remembered everything about it when I woke up this morning."

"Me too," I said with a slight sigh in my voice.

"For the record I'm glad you stopped things," she said.

OK, guess I was wrong. Maybe she did think it was a huge mistake.

"Because I would have gone all the way through with it," she added.

"Well we all make bad decisions when we're drunk," I said off-handedly.

"No, that's not it," she said. "I knew exactly what I was doing. It had nothing to do with being drunk. It had everything to do with me thinking the two of us had really been together for the past four years, like we never broke up. In that instance, things would have been perfect. But we've only been dating for three weeks. Getting married after three weeks is just crazy."

Her last comment didn't shock me at all. It actually made complete sense.

"I guess we have been going at this relationship like we never broke up," I agreed. "It's almost inevitable because we both know we never stopped loving each other."

"Then why did you stop the ceremony?" she asked.

"Because we both deserved better," was all I replied at first.

Casey just stared at me. I assumed she was waiting for me to say something more so I continued.

"I guess I just pictured the two of us doing everything the traditional way. I would surprise you by getting down on one knee and asking you to marry me. And then we would plan this beautiful wedding with all of our family, friends, brothers and sisters. And you would be in the dress. I'll admit it's kind of a fantasy of mine to see you walking towards me in a wedding dress."

"I guess the blue jeans and American Eagle shirt I was wearing last night didn't really fit into that fantasy huh?" she said with a small laugh.

"Not really," I replied also letting out a small laugh.

There was a brief silence while we just stared into each others' eyes.

"Hey, let's not let this ruin the rest of our trip," I finally said as I rested my hand on her leg. "One day it'll happen for us and we'll look back at last night laughing our asses off about how we almost got married. And if you want I can get us a pie on December 20th every year so the two of us can celebrate our almost wedding day."

"I'd like that," Casey replied with a giggle. "I love you Cap."

"I love you too," I softly said as I leaned closer to her and kissed her on the lips.

She looked down at her hand as I backed away.

"Here," she said taking off the ring. "I guess I should give you this back so you can return it."

"Yeah, probably a good idea," I replied taking the ring from her.

I went to the other side of the room and put the ring back in the box it came in. I then threw some clothes on and grabbed the room key.

"I'll go return this now and grab us something to eat," I said looking at Casey.

"Sounds good," she replied looking down at her empty finger.

I could tell she was somewhat sad about the situation and quickly made a comment that I knew would at least make her smile.

"Hey look at me," I said sitting next to her with the most serious expression I could. "Just because we're not married doesn't mean that we can't make love like we are."

I could tell Casey was trying not to laugh but I knew she remembered what she had said to me the night before.

"Get out of here," she said smiling as she hit me on the side of my arm.

I smiled back at her and made my way out of the hotel room. I always prided myself in my ability to make Casey laugh. As I made my way to the jewelry store I passed a lounge and decided to check it out. I sat down at the bar and ordered a beer. Yeah it was two in the afternoon but beer was the only kind of drink that sounded decent at the moment. I thought about Casey as I sat there and drank my beer. She really has always been the girl in my life and probably always will be. I actually liked seeing her wearing the engagement ring on her finger. It was like a symbol to tell everyone that she was mine and I was hers. I've always had this fear deep down that I would lose her again. The way things ended freshman year was so sudden and I was devastated. That's why I didn't get back together with her the night of the End of the World party. My heart couldn't take her waking up the next morning and realizing the mistake she had made.

I took the ring out of the bag next to me and opened the box. There was no way I could return this ring. It was hers. And one day I'll get down on one knee and ask her the right way to be my wife with this ring. It's too special to return.

I finished up my beer and put the ring into my pocket hoping I could hide it somewhere in my bag while she was in the shower. I got us a couple of burgers and brought them back up to the room. The rest of the day was pretty much a lazy day for the two of us. We laid in bed and watched a couple of movies, ordered room service and talked until we peacefully fell asleep. Las Vegas certainly turned out to be a wild ride. But I guess you can't expect anything less from the city of sin.

* * *

**_A/N: So what did you guys think? I have to say that I LOVED writing these last two chapters :0) Hope you enjoyed them too! As always, reviews appreciated!_**


	9. Reno, Nevada

We had one last city to stop in on our journey to my parent's house and that was Reno, Nevada. I found an amazing ski lodge not far from Reno and I knew Casey would be excited to go skiing. Me, not so much. I have actually never been skiing in my entire life and I was pretty terrified of it. But I knew it was something Casey loved to do so I planned for us to do it on our last stop. I figured if I broke a leg I at least would do it on the last part of the trip and it wouldn't ruin it all.

We woke up and sadly left the Vegas hotel. We both agreed we would have to come to Vegas again sometime and maybe bring a few of our friends. Talk about a crazy time that would be, especially with some of my Kappa Tau brothers. We spent most of the day in the Jeep because it was a seven hour drive to the ski resort. I told Casey what we were doing and she was ecstatic. Not only was she happy because she was going to get to ski but she was happy to actually be around snow. She figured since we were going to spend Christmas in California we wouldn't get to see any snow. Hearing that made me even more confident in my choice to go to the ski resort. We pulled up around nine o'clock that night and checked into our room. It was a beautiful room because of the outdoor and nature feel it had to it. The walls were all made of wooden logs which gave us a feeling of being in a log cabin.

One of the best features of the room was the fireplace. I started the fire as Casey got into her pajamas. I set up a few blankets and pillows from the bed near the fire so the two of us could lie in front of it. Casey walked out of the bathroom in her Zeta Beta sweatpants and one of my Kappa Tau t-shirts. Her hair was loosely pulled back and all of her make-up was gone. I thought she looked absolutely gorgeous. She must have heard my gasp because she walked over to me with a smile on her face.

"Did I take your breath away or something?" she asked wrapping her arms around my neck.

"You always take my breath away," I replied wrapping my hands around her waist.

She responded by giving me a soft kiss on the lips.

"I see you got the fire going," she said as she backed away from me and sat on the blankets I had set up.

"I didn't go to five years of camp with Evy-Pu for nothing," I said as I took off my jeans and joined her on the blankets.

I reclined on the pillows and stared at the fire as I pulled Casey next to me.

"I've been thinking about our past a lot today Cap," said Casey as she settled in against my chest.

"And what about it?" I asked.

"Just memories," she replied. "Like when we shared our first kiss."

"The night I walked you home from the Kappa Tau rush party. Guess we weren't wasting any time huh?" I said with a little chuckle.

"We sure didn't. But I wasn't thinking about that kiss. I was thinking about our first real kiss. The kiss the night of the KT party was just a peck."

I had to think for a second to the kiss she was talking about. But I smiled as soon as it came to me.

"Oh yes, when I pulled you into the KT closet during another one of our parties a few weeks later," I said.

"Yeah, that's the one," she replied. "You completely caught me off-guard."

"I know I did. I just couldn't help myself. You were wearing that cute pink dress that hugged every curve of your body."

"So that kiss was physically motivated," she said, sounding almost upset.

"Not all physically," I replied. "I was also completely in awe with the fact that you fit in with my brothers just about as well as I did. It takes a special girl to fit in at Kappa Tau and I was honored to know that you were all mine."

There was a brief silence.

"Cap can I ask you a question," she said.

"You can ask me anything," I replied squeezing her a little tighter.

"Please don't be mad at Rusty for telling me this," she said with a small sigh. "But he told me you had a lavalier in your drawer that you gave to him to give to Jordan. What were you doing with a lavalier?"

"Do you even have to ask?" I replied in a somewhat sad tone.

"Well yeah because I would like to know the truth," she replied.

"If you must know," I said taking a deep breath and rubbing my hand up and down her arm. "I bought it freshman year. I was going to give it to you."

"When?"

I hesitated for a second. I knew the truth was going to probably make her feel bad but I wasn't about to lie to her.

"The night of the Greek Ball," I replied.

Casey sat up and turned to look at me. Her face had a mixture of sadness and shock on it.

"Really?" she asked softly.

"Case, it's really not a big deal," I said pulling her back down next to me. "It's in the past."

"But it is a big deal," she replied. "I know what I did that night devastated you but to know that you were going to lavalier me that night makes me feel even more horrible than I already do."

"It's OK, really. I just have to warn you though that I vowed after that night to never lavalier a girl. The lavalier just represents a curse to me when I think about it now."

"I'm sorry I ruined it for you," she said turning her head to look at me.

"It's in the past and I'm pretty sure Rusty still has the lavalier, unless he never got it back from Jordan…." I faded somewhat into my thoughts.

"He did get it back from her," Casey replied answering my thoughts. "But he wasn't sure if he should give it back to you."

"He can keep it. Like I said, I have no use for it."

"Not even for me?" she replied batting her eyelashes at me.

Casey was trying to be sly. I knew she was trying to sound like she was joking about asking me but deep down she wanted to know if I had been thinking about it. I'm glad I know the girl so well.

"Sorry darling," I replied. "Not even for you."

I leaned forward and gave her a short kiss.

"Besides," I continued. "You've been lavaliered twice and look how both of those turned out for you? Why would you want to go through all of that again?"

"Because this time I would be accepting the letters for the right reason," was all she replied as she leaned her head back down against me.

I didn't reply because I wasn't really sure what to say. Don't get me wrong, I thought about lavaliering Casey on Christmas Day in some sort of cheesy, romantic way that she would love. But the thought of her wearing my lavalier didn't make my heart skip a beat like it had done in the past. I then remembered seeing the ring on her finger and how my heart began to flutter uncontrollably when I saw it. Maybe my lavalier just wasn't enough for me anymore. Maybe I needed to do something bolder, bigger. Something to catch her completely off-guard. I realized that the more I thought about it the more my heart started to flutter again. I hope she didn't notice with her head right against my chest. But I don't think she did because she had clearly fallen asleep while I was deep in my thoughts. I gently kissed the top of her head as I turned my gaze towards the fire again. I laid there for the next hour just thinking about the future and holding her tightly. Eventually I fell asleep too, the two of us never making it over to the bed.

Casey woke me up the next morning with her lips pressed firmly to mine. I began to kiss her back when she broke away and moved down to my neck.

"What are you doing?" I asked in my half asleep voice.

She just lifted her head up and smiled at me as she brought her lips back to mine. I was a little embarrassed because I probably had the worst morning breath in the world but if Casey didn't care then I certainly wasn't going to. I would say about ninety-nine percent of the time Casey and I make love in the evening so her waking me up for morning sex was pretty arousing, I'm not gonna lie.

We both showered and bundled up in our warmest clothes after our morning rendezvous. We then made our way down to the ski shop and rented our ski gear for the day. That was the point where I was beginning to get nervous. I could hardly get the hang of walking in the skis on land. How in the hell was I going to do this on a sloped hill? Casey started off by teaching me some of the basics like how to use the poles and start and stop which all seemed easy enough. She then decided we should start on something call a bunny hill. She explained to me that it was the easiest hill they had on the course. As we approached I saw kids half the size of me soaring down the hill and grew a little bit of confidence. If they could do it, so could I. So we sat next to each other on the ski lift and made our way to the top of the hill.

"OK, we're almost there," she said preparing for the departure. "Just take it nice and slow and you'll do fine."

Then in one fast movement my skis were touching the snow and I began gliding down the hill. Casey was much faster than I was but I was fine with just taking my time, making sure to not fall on my ass. The hill itself was calm but it was the people skiing around me that I had the most difficulty with. I almost ran into a kid who didn't look any older than ten. Luckily he heard my screams and moved out of the way. Thank goodness for my loud voice.

Casey was waiting for me at the bottom of the hill.

"Well, what did you think?" she asked.

"That was actually kind of fun," I replied. "And not nearly as scary as I thought it would be."

"Awesome," she said giving me a high five. "I'm proud of you hun. Now let's head back on the lift and do it again."

"OK," I replied as we got onto the lift.

The two of us completed the bunny hill a few more times. As I met Casey at the bottom of the hill the last time I could tell she was getting a little bored. Her skiing skills were way beyond the bunny hill and I knew she probably wanted to try something harder.

"So what's the next step?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Casey asked.

"The next hardest hill," I replied. "Let's go give that a try."

"Are you sure you can do it?" she asked.

"Hey, I made it down the bunny hill three times without even coming close to falling on my ass. I've got some confidence to go to the next level."

"Alright, let's go then."

The two of us headed over to the next hardest hill which was marked with a green circle. I had no idea where people came up with these markings. Why couldn't they just call them beginner, easy, medium and hard or something like that?

"Maybe I should go first," said Casey as we approached the ski lift. "I can get a feel for it and make sure it's not too hard for you."

"If that would make you feel more comfortable then go ahead," I said as I rested on a bench near the lift.

I watched Casey get into the lift. She waved to me as she began her decent up the hill. As she got out of sight I had a new feeling come over me. It was a worried feeling. I knew Casey was a strong girl so I had no idea why I was worried at all. Maybe it had to do with that deep down feeling I have of losing her again. Or maybe it was because I couldn't be the one to protect her if something went wrong in this situation. Whatever the reason was, the feeling was there and it was beginning to make a knot in my stomach. Man did I really care about that girl.

My stomach instantly released its tension about fifteen minutes later when I saw her coming back towards me.

"How was it?" I asked as she sat next to me.

"Not bad at all," she replied. "I think you should be able to do it just fine. I just need to rest for a couple minutes before we go."

"Take all the time you need," I replied.

About ten minutes later Casey and I were riding the lift up to the top of the hill. I could see how much steeper this hill was compared to the other one and I was starting to get a little nervous. But I couldn't dwell on being nervous for too long because the next thing I knew my skis hit the snow and I was gliding down the hill. Surprisingly Casey and I were staying near each other on this hill. I was having much more fun on this hill than the bunny hill. I was able to go faster and there were a lot less little kids for me to run into.

Casey and I were reaching the bottom of the hill when she began to slow down. But for some reason my skis weren't cooperating and I was picking up speed rather than slowing down.

"CAPPIE!" I heard Casey yell behind me.

But it was too late. My skis slid out from underneath me and I landed right on my butt, slamming my head into the ground.

"Oh my god, are you OK?" Casey cried as she approached me.

I sat up and rubbed the back of my head as it was starting to throb.

"Yeah, I think so," I said softly.

Casey helped me get the skis off of me and the two of us headed into the lodge. We found an empty couch by the fireplace in the lobby and sat down.

"That was a pretty nasty fall you took," she said turning to me. "Are you sure you're OK?"

"Yeah," was all I said again.

"I'm going to go and see if I can get you some ice," said Casey as she stood up and made her way over to the front desk.

She was back a couple of minutes later with an ice pack and put it on the back of my head.

"Oh that feels so good," I said as the coldness hit the back of my head.

"You've got a lump back here Cap," said Casey. "I think we should get you checked out."

"I'm fine, really," I said to her.

"Well I want to at least make sure your mind is OK," she said. "Answer these questions. What is your name?"

"Cappie."

"What are your parent's names?"

"April and Tobias."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

"Where are you right now?"

"Nevada."

"Where do you go to school at?"

"CRU in Ohio."

"What are you majoring in?"

"Not a clue."

"Who's your best friend?"

"You."

"Yeah I think you're going to live," she said to me with a smile.

"I hate to ruin skiing for you Case," I said. "I'm going to head up to the room to take a little nap. Why don't you keep skiing and enjoy yourself?"

I looked at her and she hesitated.

"I'll be fine," I continued as I stood up still holding the ice pack on my neck. "Go on and meet me back in the room later."

"Alright. But you take it easy. Just go up and rest."

"Yes master," I said leaning in and giving her a kiss.

"I love you," she said as she backed away.

"Love you too," I replied as I headed towards the elevators and up to the room.

As soon as I got into the room I dived for the bed. I knew a nap would make me feel a lot better. So I curled up under the blankets and slowly drifted off to sleep.

I woke up about two hours later. My headache was completely gone and I really felt rejuvenated. I quickly noticed the fire going in the fireplace and tried to remember if I had started the fire or not before I had gone to bed. But I didn't remember starting it. About a minute later Casey came walking out of the bathroom.

"You're up," she said coming over and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"And feeling much better," I replied with a small smile. "How was skiing?"

"I, uh, didn't get much skiing in," Casey said softly.

"Why? What happened? You didn't fall like me did you?" I asked becoming worried something happened to her.

"No, that's not it," she replied. "I went down the green hill one more time. But then I kept getting this knotting feeling in my stomach because I was worried about you."

"Why were you worried about me?" I asked.

"I didn't want you to like take a nap and slip into a coma from the head trauma you suffered or something."

I rolled my eyes at Casey.

"Yeah, I probably watch too many medical dramas," she said with a laugh. "But I was genuinely worried about you. I don't know what I would do with myself if something happened to you."

"So you just sat by the fire and watched me sleep?" I asked.

"Pretty much," she replied. "And I would come over every fifteen minutes or so just to make sure you were still breathing if I didn't hear you snoring."

"You're crazy," I said wrapping my arms around her.

"Crazy for you," she replied kissing my cheek.

The two of us laid in bed and watched the fire for a while. We then headed down to the restaurant for dinner and again spent the rest of the night nestled by the fire together. I have to say that I enjoyed my time in Reno even though I did get a little banged up. It was worth it. My heart actually skipped a beat when Casey told me about how worried she was about me. It's nice to know that the two of us feel the same way about each other. I don't think any two people could be more in sync than we are.

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**_A/N: Just one chapter posted for now. I may get another one up later. It just depends on if I get busy or not. Hope you guys liked it! Please review and let me know what you think :0)_**


	10. Arcata, California

Oh man was I sore the next morning. I could barely move when I woke up. Every muscle in my body was tight and throbbing at the same time. It certainly reminded me to never go skiing again. I guess if I ever had to again I will just stick to the bunny hill. No more going up levels for me. Casey instantly knew something was wrong when she woke up. It was probably the grimacing I had on my face with every move I made. She crawled out of bed and went into the bathroom. She came out with a glass of water, some pills and a bottle of lotion. The pills were some sort of pain reliever that she had me take. She then told me to roll over on my stomach so she could give me a massage and try to loosen some of the muscles. Getting into the position was hell but once she put the lotion on my back and began rubbing her warm hands around my muscles I was in heaven. My god that girl knew just the right places to touch and rub. Now I've had some massages in my day, some even with happy endings when they were done. But none of those could even compare to the feeling I got knowing that the woman I was so deeply and madly in love with was the one making me feel better. And I didn't even need the happy ending when she was done. Even though I probably would not have objected to it if she had offered.

About an hour later we were off to our final destination: Arcata, California. It was Christmas Eve so the roads were a little more crowded than they had been with all of the holiday travelers. Casey had fallen asleep for most of the ride. I'm not sure why she was so tired but I just let her sleep, even though the silence drove me insane. I caught my hand reaching for the radio a few different times to turn it on and I believe at one point I began to hum to myself just to have some sort of noise.

Casey woke up when we were minutes away from my parent's house.

"Where are we at?" she asked stretching her arms into the air.

"Just a couple minutes away," I replied.

"Whoa, did I really sleep that long?" she asked.

"Yeah, and I was completely bored out of my mind thanks to that," I replied.

"Sorry babe," she replied pulling down the visor and checking herself in the mirror.

"You look beautiful," I said. "And you have nothing to worry about. It's just my parents."

Casey ignored my comments and pulled a compact out of her purse and began to touch up her make-up. A few minutes later we arrived at the house and I pulled into the driveway. It was a small house but just the right size for me and my parents.

Casey and I exited the car and made our way to the front door. Before I could even knock my mom swung open the door and launched herself at me.

"Oh Cappie you're home!" she exclaimed.

"Hi mom," I stated as I wrapped my arms around her for a hug.

"How was your trip?" she asked as she backed away.

"It's been pretty great," I replied looking at Casey and smiling. "Oh, mom, this is Casey. Casey this is April, my mom."

"Nice to meet you April," said Casey shaking her hand.

"Oh please darling, with as much as Cappie talks about you I feel you're like my long lost daughter. Please, call me mom."

My mom let go of Casey's hand and gave her a hug instead. I could tell Casey was a little shocked at the gesture but she handled it well.

"Where's dad?" I asked as we entered the house.

"Oh one of his friends picked him up and they ran into town for a few groceries. He should be back soon."

Casey and I sat in the kitchen and chatted briefly with mom. She then began making dinner and told us to go ahead and bring our bags in and get settled. My room was in the basement. I pretty much had my own little apartment down there with a bedroom, bathroom and living area with a couch and TV.

"I like your room," I heard Casey say as I observed her looking around my room.

"It's not much," I replied.

Something caught Casey's eye and she walked over to the nightstand next to my bed.

"I can't believe you still have this picture," she said as she picked it up and sat on the edge of the bed.

I went over and sat next to her, not really sure what picture she was talking about. But I was quickly reminded when I looked down at the picture of her, Evan and me from freshman year.

"You know for the longest time I folded you out of the picture," she said. "So it just showed Evan and I when it hung on my memo board."

"Why did you cut me out?" I asked somewhat hurt.

"Because I loved the picture," she replied. "But once everything happened and the three of us weren't friends anymore it seemed kind of inappropriate to display the full picture."

"Oh," I said taking the picture out of her hands. "I guess I don't blame you. I could easily take a pair of scissors right now and cut Evan off the picture."

"No sense ruining it," she said turning to me. "You never know what can happen in the future. You two could meet up at a Greek reunion when you're forty and make up."

"I highly doubt it," I said putting the picture in the nightstand drawer out of sight.

"Cap, are you down here?" I heard my dad call from upstairs.

"Yeah dad," I replied as I heard my dad come down the stairs.

"Hey son," he said as I stood up and gave him a hug. "How have you been?"

"Great," I replied.

My dad looked over my shoulder at Casey sitting on the bed.

"Dad this is Casey," I said as she stood up and walked over towards us.

"Nice to meet you," she said shaking his hand.

"It's so nice to finally meet you," my dad replied. "We have just heard so much about you. It's nice to finally put a face to the name."

I felt myself blushing at my dad's comment and knew I had to get him back upstairs before he said anything else I might regret.

"We'll be up in a few minutes dad," I said trying to get him to take the hint. "I'm sure dinner is almost ready."

"OK, I'll meet you guys up there," he said as he turned and walked back up the stairs.

"So it looks like someone talks about me a lot," Casey said once my dad closed the door to the stairway.

"They're making it out to be a bigger deal than it is," I replied. "So what if I like to talk about you? You are my girlfriend you know."

"Only for three weeks," she said with a smile. "And I get the feeling they have been hearing about me for more than just three weeks."

"I guess it's hard not to talk about the woman you love," I smiled back at her as I walked up and put my arms around her waist.

"I can live with that answer," she replied as the two of us kissed.

The rest of the night ended up being pretty busy for the two of us. Casey had her first vegetarian dinner and seemed to enjoy it. The conversation at the dinner table was never dull as we found plenty of things to talk about. I caught myself during dinner just staring at Casey a few times. It was amazing how well she got along with my parents and they seemed to love her just as much.

After dinner we decided to play some games and I was quickly ganged up on by my parents and my girlfriend. All three of them knew my secrets to cheating and made sure I couldn't use any of them during the game. Needless to say I lost pretty badly. But I would lose silly games any day if it meant the three most important people in my life were laughing and having a good time at my expense. My dad has always been an early riser in the mornings so he went to bed first that night. Mom made the three of us some hot chocolate and we sat around the kitchen table and talked a little more while we drank the hot chocolate. Soon Casey began to yawn and excused herself to go to bed. I wanted to join her but I also wanted to get a little one on one time with my mom. And come to think of it, I think Casey knew that. She had slept most of the day in the car so I'm pretty sure she wasn't as tired as she made it out to be. I smiled on the inside as I realized we were really in sync with each other.

"Casey is such a lovely girl Cap," my mom said as she washed out the mugs we were using.

"Yeah, she's pretty amazing," I replied with a smile.

"I'm just so happy to see that you're so happy Cappie," she said as she sat next to me at the kitchen table. "I don't think I have ever seen a glow to your face like you have on it now."

"There is just something about her mom. I love her and I would do anything for her."

"Have you two talked about the future at all?" my mom asked. "I know school-wise you're still not sure what you want to do."

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure that's going to have to be a road we're going to cross in the future," I replied with a sigh. "Casey thinks about the future a lot. She has a major but I still don't think she knows quite what she wants to do after graduation."

"So she's going to graduate after next semester?"

"Yeah," I replied with another sigh. "Something that I will certainly not be doing."

"Now I know you're a very smart guy Cap. I think if you really buckled down you could end up graduating next semester."

"I know," I replied. "I just think if I did that then I would be changing for her and I'm not sure I want to do that. She should accept and love me for who I am right now. Even if that means I'll be at CRU for another year or two."

"And do you think she accepts you for who you are now?" my mom asked.

I thought about what she asked for a second and thought back to our conversation at the Grand Canyon. Casey said when she looked into her future she wasn't sure of much. But the one thing she was sure of was that I would be there.

"I'm sure she does," I said confidently.

"That's great sweetheart," my mom said putting her hand on top of mine. "I think it's probably time I head off to bed now."

"Hey mom," I stopped her from standing up.

She looked at me intently.

"I think I want to ask Casey to marry me."

I couldn't believe I had blurted out such a thing to my mother. But I always trusted my mother's advice and opinions. And I knew she would tell me the truth, whether she thought I was crazy or not.

"Isn't there some sort of pre-engagement things you guys do with Greek life before getting engaged?" she asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "But Casey has already had that by two different guys. I want to be different. I want to show her that I mean forever with her."

"Engagement is a pretty big step in a relationship that's only been three weeks sweetheart. Plus diamond rings are not cheap."

"I actually already have a ring," I stated.

My mom looked at me confused so I went ahead and told her everything that happened in Las Vegas and the fact that Casey and I actually did almost get married. I watched her expression the entire time I told the story and I was really surprised to not see any disappointment on her face. She mostly had a softness to her face like she understood everything that happened in Vegas.

"Vegas always brings the craziness out in people," she commented. "But I guess given everything that happened there I would say maybe you two are more towards that part of your relationship than I thought."

"I don't know mom, I'm confused," I said. "It's crazy to think about doing something like that after just a month of dating."

"You said it yourself Cap, it's like the two of you have been dating since you were freshman," my mom replied.

I just sighed and shook my head, still torn with my decision.

"I'm going to bed now honey," she said taking my hand. "But just know that whatever you decide, you have my blessing. I would welcome Casey into the family with open arms. She's the one for you. Momma knows."

I smiled at her as she leaned down and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Good night mom," I said.

"Good night sweetheart," she replied walking out of the kitchen.

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**_A/N: Sorry the posting was a little late tonight. I hope there are still people out there reading this....LoL....I thought I would get a lot more reviews after posting the Vegas chapters but I only got a couple :0(_**

**_Anyway, this story will be wrapped up by the end of the week. Thanks for reading!_**


	11. Arcata, California Day 2

I woke on Christmas day with Casey cuddled in my bed, in my arms. I had never been so content in my life. I looked at the clock and saw that it was ten am. Yeah, I've never been one to wake up early on Christmas day. Mom and dad believe that Christmas is too commercialized and even though we do celebrate it, it's never been a huge deal. I never experienced waking up early on Christmas morning as a little kid and running to find a ton of presents under the tree. Actually, we never really even had a typical Christmas tree. Our Christmas tree is up year round. You see, my parents couldn't even fathom cutting down a tree every year to have for Christmas. So they went out and bought a ficus tree that sits permanently in our living room. During spring, summer and fall it's just an ordinary tree inside the house. But mom decorates it as the Christmas tree in the winter.

I noticed there were several presents under the tree last night and that was rather odd for me. Usually I get two or three presents for Christmas and it's enough for me, I don't mind. Except when one of the presents is socks or underwear. My mom would give me one or the other every single year until I finally stood up to her when I was a sophomore in high school and broke the news to her that they weren't cool presents. She got the hint, I haven't gotten socks or underwear for Christmas since. On the other hand I wouldn't doubt if some of the presents under the tree were fake. I wouldn't put it past my mom to wrap up a few empty boxes just to liven up the Christmas spirit because Casey was there this year.

I kissed Casey on the top of the head figuring it was about time the two of us got up. She slowly stretched and moved her head up to look at me.

"Merry Christmas," I said with a smile.

"Merry Christmas," she replied smiling back at me.

We dove towards each other at the same time and began to kiss. After a couple of minutes I had to push her away from me and give her a knowing look that sex in my parent's house probably wasn't such a great idea. At least not now. Maybe if mom and dad leave and we have the house to ourselves but certainly not now.

"So what did you get me for Christmas?" she asked lying her head back down on my chest.

"I'm not going to tell you," I replied. "You'll open it soon enough."

"I can't wait," she replied.

"Why don't you go upstairs so I can get your present ready," I said giving her a squeeze.

"You haven't wrapped it yet?" she asked sitting up on the edge of the bed.

"Again, none of your business," I replied.

"Fine," she said as she walked over to her bag.

I watched her pull a wrapped present out of her bag and took it upstairs with her. I assumed it was whatever she had gotten for me and she wanted to put it under the tree. I smiled as I got out of bed and went over to my bag. I dug deep in the bottom of and pulled out two things: the wrapped present I already had for her and the ring. I stood there and contemplated for a while as to what I was going to do. The conversation with my mom last night did help me come to the conclusion that it wasn't too crazy to ask her to marry me. But mom has always been the hopeless romantic type. Where do you think I get it? I honestly would feel a lot more comfortable running the idea with some other people first. One person in particular came to mind. So I picked up my phone and dialed the number.

"Hey Cap, Merry Christmas," Rusty answered the phone.

"Merry Christmas to you too Spitter," I replied. "How are things at the Cartwright house?"

"Everything is going well here," he replied. "But we sure missed Casey this morning when we were opening presents. Have you guys opened yours yet?"

"Actually that's kind of why I'm calling Spitter," I said. "We haven't opened them yet and I'm torn between two presents I have for your sister."

"I'm not sure if I can help you much Cap," said Rusty. "Ashleigh would be more of an expert on Casey's taste in presents."

"I actually need your opinion more than your expertise."

"OK," said Rusty. "I'm listening."

I thought about just coming right out and asking Rusty if it would be a good idea or not to ask Casey to marry me but I knew I had to soften the blow a little bit more than that. So I started small, just to kind of test the waters.

"What do you think about me lavaliering her," I said.

"I thought you were never going to lavalier a girl after what happened with Casey freshman year and all the rest of the KT curses," Rusty replied. "I always expected you to just go right to pinning Casey if anything."

Well, this was actually starting off pretty well. It was the reaction I expected out of Rusty though. He was always trying to remind me of things I said to him in the past like I had forgotten all about them.

"OK, so then I'll pin her instead," I said as sort of a half statement, half question hoping Rusty would comment on it.

"That's cool Cap, you do whatever you want," he replied. "But I'm surprised you're even talking like this. You guys have only been dating again for like a month."

OK, so maybe Rusty wasn't cheering for me as much as I thought he had in the beginning of our conversation.

"So you think it's too soon?" I asked. "Because the last thing I want is our family and friends to freak out because I'm moving too fast."

"You two have been dancing around each other for years Cap. I don't think much can surprise us anymore when it comes to the two of you."

"OK, try this one on for size," I said. "I'm thinking about asking your sister to marry me."

Then Rusty was speechless. He didn't say anything for a long while. I finally had to break the silence.

"Well, what's your reaction to that?" I asked.

"I think it's too soon for that Cap," he replied. "I think Casey would freak out."

"What if I told you I'm pretty sure she won't," I replied.

"Then everyone else will freak out," he responded.

I sighed loudly into the phone.

"Cap, you asked for my opinion, so I'm giving it to you. I think it's too soon. There's no reason to rush into this."

"Always the voice of reason Spitter," I replied trying not to sound too disappointed. "I appreciate your honesty."

"You're welcome Cap. I hope I didn't crush you too much," he replied.

"No worries," I replied.

"Well have a good rest of the day Cap," said Rusty. "Have Casey call us later."

"I will. Thanks again Russ."

"Anytime," he replied. "Goodbye."

"Bye."

After my conversation with Rusty I completely chickened out about giving Casey the ring back as a Christmas present. So I promptly put it back into the bottom of my bag and grabbed the original present I had gotten her. I fixed my hair to look at least a little presentable in the mirror and headed upstairs. I found Casey sitting at the kitchen table drinking some coffee with my mom.

"Good morning honey," said my mom standing up and giving me a hug. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Just fine," I replied taking a seat next to Casey.

"Do you want some coffee?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine," I replied. "When are we going to open presents?"

"Right now I guess," said my mom heading into the living room to the tree.

Casey and I quickly followed her and sat on the couch by the tree. Dad was already in his favorite recliner chair reading the newspaper.

"Morning son," he said.

"Morning dad," I replied.

The opening of the presents went rather quickly because I was correct that a lot of the presents under the tree were indeed fake. My mom thought it was such a great idea but I was somewhat embarrassed she would do that just because Casey was coming. Mom and dad got me a couple new necklaces, a few DVDs and socks. Yeah, I wasn't so happy to open that but I really did need new socks so I guess I couldn't be too mad at my mom. Mom and dad actually got Casey a body wash gift set which I thought was really nice of them. Casey was pretty shocked when she got a present from them and was very thankful for it. I gave Casey her present and watched her closely as she opened it. It was a medium size box and I could tell she was a little surprised to get it. Maybe she was expecting a smaller box with some sort of jewelry in it. But she was excited when she opened it to see the new IPod Touch I had gotten her. Her other IPod broke a couple of weeks ago so I figured it would be a good present for her. She thanked me and wrapped her arms around me tightly. She then got her present for me underneath the tree and handed it to me. I playfully shook it to see if I could guess what it was but she scolded me for doing so. I slowly opened it to reveal several different items. There first was a new long sleeved shirt on the top. Casey told me that she thought I would like it because it was nice enough to wear for a special occasion but comfortable enough for my taste. Then there was the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare game I had asked for which will probably be the highlight of the frat house once school resumes. Then on the very bottom was a photo album. I took it out and began flipping through it. It was in chronological order with the pictures in the front of the album being from when we first started dating freshman year and then going on from there. I could tell she put a lot of time into the album because there was quotes and stickers all over the pages with the pictures. The very last page was the most recent picture of us. It was taken right after Songfest. I thought Casey looked so beautiful that day with her hair up in a ponytail with a few strands hanging in her face. The best part of the picture was the fact that I wasn't even looking at the camera. She had a huge smile on her face with her arm wrapped around me but my head was turned and looking at her. I had this cheesy smile on my face like I was the happiest guy in the world. I read the quote above the picture she had written: _There are two kinds of sparks, the one that goes off with a hitch like a match but it burns quickly. The other is the kind that needs time, but when the flame strikes, it's eternal. _I seriously almost had a tear form in my eye when I read the quote. It couldn't have been more perfect to describe our relationship. And I couldn't agree with it more. I really feel our flame is eternal this time around and I knew she felt the same.

"I hope you like it," I heard her say breaking me from my thoughts.

"I love it," I replied. "This is probably the most thoughtful present anyone has ever given me."

"Do you mind if I take a look at it?" my mom asked.

"Go right ahead," I said standing up and handing her the book.

As I walked back to the couch I took Casey's hand and pulled her up to a standing position. I then wrapped my arms tightly around her waist and pulled her in for an amazing kiss. I could feel her fighting me just a little bit because I'm sure she was embarrassed we were kissing in front of my parents. But I didn't care. I wasn't afraid to kiss the love of my life in front of anyone.

"Thank you for my wonderful presents," I said backing away from her.

"You're welcome," she replied. "And thank you for my new IPod. I really needed it."

"I know you did," I said with a smile. "That's why I got it for you."

She smiled back at me as she returned to sit on the couch.

"This is so cute Casey," said my mom as she flipped thought the book. "You did a great job on it."

"Thanks," Casey replied blushing just a little bit.

When mom was finished looking at the album we all cleaned up the wrapping paper and headed into the kitchen to have something to eat. Casey excused herself to go and take a shower after we ate and I found myself sitting at the kitchen table again with my mom.

"Thanks for my presents mom," I said looking at her. "Even the socks. I honestly really needed them."

"I figured you did," she replied. "I haven't gotten them for you in a while and lord knows you would never buy them on your own so I figured I would take a chance and get them."

"Momma always knows best," I said smiling at her.

There was a brief silence between us.

"That was a very nice scrapbook Casey made for you Cap," my mom finally said. "I could tell she spent a lot of time on it."

"Yeah, it was really nice," I replied. "Something I'll cherish for a long time."

"I can tell she really loves you Cap. Just by the way she made that book."

"You could?" I asked.

"Yes, and that's why I think you should still ask her to marry you," my mom said.

I was a little shocked at her remark. I know she gave me her blessing with whatever I decided after our last talk but she wasn't really clear with one way or the other.

"I thought it was a good idea," I replied. "But I talked to her brother earlier this morning and he told me it was probably a bad idea given we've only been dating for like a month."

"See that's always been an issue with you Cappie. You always look for other people's opinions rather than relying completely on your own thoughts."

"I act on my own thoughts," I said defending myself.

"Sweetheart, if it was completely up to you would you have asked Casey to marry you this morning or would you have given her the IPod?

I thought about her question for a second before I answered.

"I would have asked her to marry me," I replied with a sigh.

"Well then you have your answer," my mom replied. "Just listen to your heart honey. It's never steered you wrong before."

With that said mom stood up, kissed me on the cheek and then headed to her room to get changed and ready for the day. I sat at the kitchen table for several minutes contemplating what she had said. I hated to admit it but she was right. Things couldn't have gone any better once I listened to my heart and told Casey I wanted to be with her. The same with telling her that I loved her. So it was then I decided that I was going to stop thinking with my head all the time when it came to Casey. Things just seem to work out better when I listen to my heart and I was bound and determined to do just that.

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**_A/N: I think there is only two more chapters to go in the story. As always, any reviews appreciated! Thanks for reading :0)_**


	12. Chicago, Illinois

Casey and I spent the rest of Christmas day just hanging around the house with my parents. We played a few games, watched a couple of movies and talked a lot about the future and other random things. I could tell my mom was really trying to figure out what Casey was thinking about our relationship and the future. She did a good job being nonchalant about it but I knew what she was trying to do. Casey and I cuddled in bed later that night until we fell asleep in each other's arms.

We woke up early the next day so we could explore a little bit of the city before our flight left later that evening. It was hard saying goodbye to my parents when we left because I wasn't really sure when I would see them next. Mom assured me it would be sooner than later so I can always hold onto that little hope. I told her I would want my Jeep back when they were done with it so maybe I'll fly back to California for spring break to drive it back. But then I would have to miss spring break in Myrtle Beach. I guess I'll have to think about that one when the time comes.

Anyway, the flight to Chicago was a little turbulent but no major issues. Casey was the most scared on the take-off and landing. She squeezed my hand so hard during the take-off I almost considered asking the flight attendant for some ice. At the same time though I was happy to be the one to squeeze her hand and make her feel safe. I've never really had an issue with flying so I think my calmness also helped her feel a little bit better. Rusty picked us up from the airport to take us back to their parents' house.

"So how was your trip?" Rusty asked as he got onto the highway.

"It was a lot of fun," Casey replied. "We went horseback riding, gambled a little bit, took a balloon ride and did some skiing. Cappie did an awesome job having everything planned out for us."

"I'm impressed Cap," said Rusty. "I didn't know you had so much planned."

"Yeah, with Beaver's help and Wikipedia on our side we were able to plan a lot of the trip."

"Oh and we almost got married in Vegas too," Casey blurted out.

I tensed up immediately. I didn't think this was something we were going to share with a lot of people. I thought it was going to be our little secret.

"Yeah right, that's funny," said Rusty obviously not believing what Casey said.

"No joke," Casey replied. "We were like two minutes away from being pronounced husband and wife and Cappie stopped the ceremony."

Rusty shot me a confusing look which I just replied by shrugging my shoulders. This was not something I wanted to talk about at the time.

"So Spitter what kinds of things do you have planned for me while I'm here?" I asked changing the subject.

"I didn't know I was supposed to plan anything," Rusty replied.

"Don't worry Russ, I've got a couple things up my sleeve," Casey said from the backseat.

"Oh you do?" I asked turning around and shooting her a smile.

She just smiled back at me and didn't reply.

The rest of the ride to Casey's house was Rusty pretty much telling us what he got for Christmas and how he was depressed to not have a girlfriend for the holidays. I had met Casey's parents before at Rusty's parents' weekend so seeing them wasn't incredibly awkward. I did feel a little more out of place though being Casey's boyfriend rather than just Rusty's frat brother. Her parents were extremely nice though and welcomed me with open arms. Casey took me upstairs so I could put my things in the guest room. Her parents weren't as keen on us staying in the same room as my parents were and I guess I couldn't blame them. I just hoped Casey would sneak over to my room after they went to bed so we could at least have a little cuddle time.

Casey's parents didn't stay up long after we had arrived because it was pretty late. Rusty also retired to his room soon after. Casey and I were still wide awake with the time difference though so we found ourselves sitting in the living room on the couch talking.

"I can't believe the year is almost over," said Casey resting her head in my lap.

"It has been a pretty crazy year," I said running my hands through her hair. "But it's ending happily and who doesn't like happy endings?"

"Very true," she replied.

There was a calming silence between the two of us. I just kept running my hands through her soft blond hair.

"So what has been your favorite memory of the year?" Casey asked me breaking the silence.

"I don't think you even have to ask," I replied. "It was Thanksgiving of course."

"OK, well, besides that," she said.

I looked up at the ceiling to think of my answer. It came to me quickly.

"It may seem kind of strange to say this," I said. "But one of my other favorite memories was sitting on the roof at the End of the World party. When Ashleigh came and told me you had broken up with Max."

"Really?" she asked. "May I ask why?"

"Because I was insanely jealous of the guy," I replied. "And he was a good guy so that's why I felt so guilty for not liking him. The only reason I didn't like him was because he had you. So after I heard he broke up with you and thought about it for a bit I came running after you. I wasn't about to lose you again. But we all know how that ended with Evan getting in the way."

"Yeah," Casey said softly.

"So how about you? What's your favorite memory?" I asked.

"I guess I would have to say it would be almost marrying you last week," she replied. "As crazy as it was, it will was an amazing time."

"You could really see yourself married to me?" I asked.

"Of course," she replied. "Maybe not right this minute but somewhere down the road after graduation probably."

"So if the two of us went all the way through with the marriage in Vegas, would you have gotten an annulment the next day or would you have stuck it out with me?"

"Neither," she replied sitting up and bringing her face just inches from mine. "I wouldn't have had to stick it out with you. We would have lived happily ever after because I think you would make a great husband."

"Really? And why is that?" I asked.

"Because you're caring, you protect me, you love me," she replied. "Just think about everything that happened on our road trip these past two weeks. You've been everything I always wanted in a best friend, a boyfriend and a husband. I've never been more in love with you."

"Me neither," I replied leaning down and kissing her.

The two of us really didn't say a whole lot the rest of the night. And neither of us wanted to leave each other after the conversation we just had. So we figured it would be safe to stay together as long as we were cuddled on the couch and in the open. I thought a lot about what Casey said before I fell asleep. It was like she was giving me all of these signs that she wanted me in the future. I'm not sure why but it seems like she's been yearning for some sort of commitment from me. The fact that she's mentioned the lavalier and engagement or marriage on multiple occasions made me realize it. At that point I was seriously reconsidering my decision to not propose to her on Christmas morning. It was like Evan prevented me from being with her the first time and this time I let Rusty stop me. If anything I was mad at myself for continuing to listen to others and not myself.

* * *

Casey kept me busy over the next few days. We spent one day in downtown Chicago visiting all of the sites. We took a trip up to the Sears tower and walked around the zoo one day. The next day she took me to a dinner theater called Medieval Times where we watched people do like jousting and sword fights while we ate dinner. It was quite possibly the coolest thing I had ever seen and I had so much fun being there with her. I went to the gift shop on the way out and bought a couple beer steins and medieval drinking glasses for us to use at the Kappa Tau house. I knew my brothers would get a kick out of them. Casey wanted to spend some time with her parents the third day we were there. They still hadn't given her the Christmas presents that they bought her. So Rusty and I went out for a bit to give them some time together. He took me to dinner at this sports place called ESPN Zone and it was a pretty cool place. Neither of us have ever really been great at sports but after dinner we played a lot of interactive games and had more fun sucking at them than we probably would have done winning at them. The next evening Casey's parents planned a family dinner at the house. At one point before dinner started I found myself sitting in the living room with Casey's dad. Rusty had gotten a phone call that he took upstairs and both of the girls were in the kitchen cooking. We first sat in awkward silence but I figured I would change that by starting the conversation.

"Thanks for having me here Mr. Cartwright," was all I could think of to say.

"You're welcome Cappie. I know how important you are to both of my children. You have really helped Rusty find himself over the past year. I believe I owe you a thank you for that."

"Well you're welcome but Rusty is a good kid. He's like a brother to me and I will be there to help him anytime he needs," I replied.

Mr. Cartwright just took a sip of his drink and shook his head.

"And I'll do the same with Casey too," I added.

"You two have a lot of history don't you?" Mr. Cartwright asked.

"Yeah, ever since I laid eyes on her freshman year," I replied staring off into space a little bit.

"Do you love her?" he asked.

"Of course, more than anything," I said without hesitation.

"Well good, because I see the say she looks at you Cappie. She's very much in love with you too."

"She's one hell of a girl," was all I replied.

"And you're one hell of a guy Cappie," he stated. "You're welcome here anytime you want. And I mean that."

"Thanks Mr. Cartwright."

"Hey guys, dinner is ready," Casey said as she came walking into the living room looking cute as ever in her little apron.

"Nice talking with you Cappie," said Mr. Cartwright standing up and shaking my hand. "I look forward to many more in the future."

"Will do," I replied as I watched him walk out of the room and into the dining room.

"What was that all about?" Casey asked walking up to me.

"I think your dad may just love me as much as you do," I replied with a small laugh.

"I guess you're just an easy person to love," she said as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Indeed I am," I replied as I leaned down and planted my lips on hers for a soft kiss.

"We should really get going to dinner," she said breaking away.

"You didn't put any poison or nasty stuff on my plate did you?" I asked jokingly.

"Of course not silly," she said playfully hitting my arm.

I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind as we walked towards the dining room.

"By the way," I leaned down and whispered into her ear. "When we get our own house you have full permission to walk around in just a little apron anytime you want."

She just giggled as the two of us took our places at the dinner table. Dinner actually went really well. Growing up with just me and my parents I never really got a chance to sit around and have a family dinner. I felt a little awkward at first but once the food was dished up and everyone began talking things went well. Rusty did a lot of the talking of course but I didn't mind. Casey and I told her parents about our trip to California and our adventures along the way. Well, except Vegas. We mentioned we had gone there and gambled a little money but acted like the wedding never happened. Rusty eyed both of us during the story and I saw Casey shoot him a 'shut the hell up' look which I found quite humorous. After dinner we all watched a movie in the living room and retired to our rooms soon after. The past couple of nights Casey hadn't been able to sneak over to my room so I just went to bed like I normally would thinking it would be another lonely night. I was just starting to fall asleep when I heard the door to the room open and close quietly. Casey then climbed into my bed and cuddled up next to me.

"I wasn't expecting you Miss Cartwright," I said as I squeezed her as tight as I could.

"I never realized how much I miss spending the night with you. I was so lonely these past few nights," she replied.

"I missed you too sweetheart," I replied with a small smile.

I had almost fallen asleep again when I heard her sniffle.

"Are you crying honey?" I asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," she replied.

"Hey, no reason to be sorry," I whispered. "Can I ask what's wrong?"

"I guess I'm just scared about going back to campus," she replied. "You have done such a wonderful job taking my mind off the whole Gamma Psi thing. But I'm starting to think about it again."

"I really wish you wouldn't be so worried about it," I said. "I know you're scared that the ZBZs may get into a lot of trouble but we still have at least another week of Christmas break. Just because we're heading back to Cyprus tomorrow doesn't mean you have to start to worry."

"But almost all the Greeks come back to Cyprus for the KT New Year's party. Everyone is going to be there."

"And they'll be too drunk to even care about the Gamma Psi house fire," I replied continuing to try and be light about the situation.

Casey turned her head to look at me.

"How come you are so positive about everything," she said. "It's like nothing ever bothers you."

"Plenty of things bother me Case," I replied. "I just don't let them get to me too much."

"What bothers you then?" she asked.

"Well a big thing is the whole Evan situation and the prank that went wrong with my brothers," I replied. "But in my mind I have accepted what has happened is what has happened and I can't change anything about it. The same applies with your situation. What has happened has happened and you can't change what happened."

"I guess you're right," she said laying her head back down on my chest. "You really are my other half you know. I don't know what I would do without you. I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart. And I'm always going to be here for you. Forever."

"I know," she replied with a small laugh. "We came minutes away from making it forever."

"Oh but one day we will Case," I said giving her a squeeze. "And it will be the happiest day of my entire life."

"Mine too," she whispered squeezing my waist back.

I smiled as I rubbed my hand up and down the side of her arm. Minutes later I heard Casey sleeping soundly. I stared up at the ceiling for a while before falling asleep. I really wasn't thinking about anything in particular. Maybe it was because I was so content in the moment. If anyone would have asked me last year that I would be spending this holiday with Casey cuddled in my arms I would have laughed in their face and called them liars. I knew things were going to be different this time around for the two of us. I also knew I probably needed to start thinking about my future a little bit more. I thought about picking a major when the new semester started but as I told my mom, I'm not going to change my plans for Casey. I can almost guarantee that I'm going to be at CRU for at least another year. It's kind of funny when I think about it. I'm afraid to grow up when it comes to school and my career but I'm not afraid to grow up when it comes to Casey. The future is a very scary thing for everyone but there is something about my future with Casey that is not scary at all. And that thought alone made me even more confident in asking her to marry me. The only decision now would be when and, more importantly, how.

* * *

**_A/N: So it looks like Cappie may just do it now :0) I think I lied when I said one more chapter. I'm thinking about writing an epilogue chapter....what do you guys think?? It probably wouldn't be as long as the other chapters I have written but just something to kind of wrap things up and see how everything turned out._**


	13. Cyprus Rhodes, Ohio

Casey's parents took us all out for a brunch the next day. It was at a local restaurant just outside of Chicago and the food was amazing. We then just relaxed at her house until it was time to head back to CRU. Rusty ended up driving Casey's car home for the break so the three of us were going to pile in and head back to school. We didn't leave until the early evening so we ended up driving for a few hours and getting a hotel room for the night.

We arrived early afternoon the next day, New Years Eve. Rusty dropped me off at the Kappa Tau house and the two of them were headed off to Rusty's apartment. I walked in the door to find several of my brothers setting up for the enormous party we had planned for the night.

"Cappie!" exclaimed Beaver coming up to me. "How was your trip?"

"It was amazing," I replied. "We did so many fun things. You and I really know how to plan one hell of a trip."

"Don't forget Wikipedia," said Beaver with a smile.

"So how was your holiday man?"

"It was good," he replied. "I went home for a few days around Christmas but you know my family. I got sick of them pretty fast and headed back here as soon as I could."

"Yeah, I can't blame you," I replied. "I'm going to head upstairs and unpack. Let me know if you guys need me to do anything for tonight."

"Just bring yourself," Beaver replied. "And prepare to get drunk as a skunk."

I just smiled back at Beaver as I headed upstairs to my room. I closed the door behind me to cut off some of the noise and threw my bag on my bed. The first thing I did was check my e-mail since I had been away for so long. I was hoping there would be nothing in my mail from Dean Bowman about either the prank or the Gamma Psi fire. That's the last thing I needed to worry about. But thankfully there wasn't. The only thing worth reading amongst the junk mail was an e-mail from a random guy with the subject 'pictures.' It took me a second to realize what it was but it hit me quickly. These were the pictures from the Grand Canyon that the tourist took. I opened the e-mail and saw there were about ten attachments. I began downloading and looking at each picture. They were all so amazing. There was one that especially took my breath away. The entire Canyon around us was a pinkish-orange and the two of us were in the foreground of the picture kissing. We looked like two black shadows with all the beautiful lighting around us. I promptly made that picture my desktop background and sat there and stared at it for several minutes. It really looked like a picture that belonged in a gallery in my opinion. Everything about it was so perfect.

I was finally able to break out of my trance and began unpacking my bag. It was fairly easy to do since most of my clothes were just thrown in the clothes hamper to be washed. I got to the very bottom of the bag and pulled out the box with the ring in it. I opened the box and stared at it as I sat down on the edge of the bed. I began to think about any significant dates coming up for Casey and I that I could ask her to marry me. The only thing I could really come up with though was our like two month anniversary and that seemed kind of silly. Maybe it would be better if I just picked a random day to do it and catch her off guard. Who was I kidding though, she is probably going to be caught off guard no matter when I do it. But the one thing I knew for sure was that she was going to say yes. I thought back to the morning after out almost wedding in Vegas and how I saw her smile while looking at the ring on her finger. Yeah, there was no doubt in my mind that she would say yes. I shut the box and walked over to the armoire that housed my television. I pulled out a drawer at the top and put the box in there: right where the box with her lavalier sat for years. It only seemed appropriate to place it there.

I was shaken out of my thoughts again by my cell phone vibrating in my pocket.

_When did you want me to come over?_ Casey texted me.

_Anytime. Everyone else should be here around nine_, I texted back.

_I'll let you know when I'm on my way. I'm going to do some laundry and catch up with Ash first._

_OK, I love you_, I replied.

_Love you too._

I spent the next few hours downstairs hanging out with my brothers and getting ready for people to start arriving. Rusty had made his way over to the house with Dale. It's always good to sit around and catch up with Dale. Never in a million years did I think the two of us would become good friends but he really is a great guy. Well, except for this crush he has on Casey. It's never really bothered me because I know Casey would have no interest in him but I think as my friend it's about time he lets it go.

By ten o'clock the house was already packed to capacity with people. I was getting a little worried about Casey though because I hadn't heard anything from her. I went outside the front door to get away from the noise so I could call her and see where she was. A tap on my shoulder interrupted me while I was dialing her number.

"Dude, you are the last person I want to see right now," I said as I turned around to see Evan standing behind me.

"Cap, I'm not here to beg for your forgiveness. I just want to tell you that I'm sorry because I don't think I ever got the chance to do it before we went on break," said Evan.

"Well you said you're sorry so now you can get the hell out of here."

"Can't we at least talk about this like civil adults?" asked Evan.

"I don't think I can be civil when it comes to you anymore Evan. You got three of my brothers expelled because you chose your brothers over your friends. You couldn't have made it any clearer who you are loyal to."

"Cap, I didn't do it to hurt you or betray your trust on purpose," Evan replied. "I only did it to get my house back. If anything I looked out for you getting you to come downstairs with me so you wouldn't get caught."

"Don't think I'm going to thank you for that or anything," I replied bitterly as I shoved my hands in my pockets.

"Alright, I get it, you don't want to have anything to do with me," said Evan. "I saw that you were home from break and there were two things I wanted to tell you. The first being that I'm sorry, which I already said."

I nodded at him to continue.

"And the second is that once school starts back up I plan on telling Dean Bowman that the Omega Chis were involved in the prank too and maybe we can get your three brothers reinstated."

"And why in the hell would you do that?" I asked.

"Because like I told you before, we just thought they would get community service. Once the brothers found out they got expelled we agreed to turn ourselves in too. They can't expel us all right?"

I just stared at Evan. I wanted to tell him thank you for coming clean to Dean Bowman but the anger in my body was overpowering any niceness I had in me.

"I've learned the hard way to not trust what you say Chambers," I said angerly. "But when I find out that you guys actually did turn yourselves in then you'll get my thank you."

"I guess that's all I can hope for right now Cap," he said turning away. "Thanks for listening to me at least."

I watched Evan slowly walk down Greek row to the Omega Chi house. I instantly calmed down once I couldn't see him anymore. He really had some nerve coming over to my house like that. Casey would be very proud of me. As much as I wanted to punch Evan I was civil as I could be. Thinking about that made me remember why I had come outside in the first place. I was calling Casey. I pulled out my phone and called her.

"Hey babe," she answered the phone.

"I hate to be the crazy, overprotective boyfriend," I stated. "But I just wanted to call and check in because I hadn't heard from you in a while."

"Aw, you're so cute," Casey replied. "I'm sorry I haven't called. Ashleigh and I have just been talking and lost track of the time."

"It's OK," I replied. "Do you think you'll be over soon? And is Ashleigh coming?"

"She's going to wait for Fisher to get done working in the kitchen," Casey replied. "But I'll be over in just a bit."

"Can't wait," I said with a smile. "See you soon."

"Bye," she replied.

I hung up the phone and made my way back into the house. I found Beaver and began drinking a beer while I talked with my friends. It was just a few minutes later that I saw Casey come walking up to me.

"There's my girl," I said taking a few steps closer to her.

"Come with me," she said as she grabbed my hand and pulled me upstairs and into my room.

I finished my beer quickly on our way up and threw the cup on the floor. Once we got into the room Casey pinned me against the door and began to run her hands underneath my shirt. I leaned down and began to kiss her.

"A little ferocious aren't we?" I asked seductively as I pulled away from her.

"Only because I love you more than life itself," she smiled as we started to walk over towards my bed.

"Are you sure you want to do this with all the people downstairs?" I asked.

"Shhhh," was all Casey replied as she began to tear my clothes off.

The two of us managed to make love without anyone knocking on the door or walking into my room which I thought was a miracle. We laid naked in bed once we were finished.

"May I ask why you wanted me so badly this evening?" I asked as we both got up and began to put our clothes back on.

"Because I wanted to make sure we made love one last time this year," she replied. "It's been an incredible year and I wanted to end it right."

"Well I hope I lived up to your expectations," I said walking over to her and putting my arms around her waist.

"Of course you did," she replied standing on her tip toes and giving me a quick kiss on the lips. "You've always been the best I have ever had."

My heart skipped a little beat hearing those words out of her mouth. What can I say, I like being the best.

"Why don't you go ahead and go downstairs and get us something to drink," I said. "Beaver should be down there mixing some drinks."

"And what are you going to do?" she asked.

"I just have to go to the bathroom first," I said. "I'll be down right behind you."

With that Casey walked out of the room while I was tying my shoe. I didn't really need to go to the bathroom. I went up to the door and made sure she was out of sight. Once confirmed, I headed over to my armoire and got out the ring box. If Casey wanted to end 2009 on a high note then I was going to make sure we were going to start 2010 on an even higher note.

* * *

**_A/N: OK so I lied again....I thought this was going to be the last chapter but I realized I wanted to clear up some of the Evan/Cappie things before ending it. So the next chapter should be the next chapter and then maybe an epilogue. I didn't think you guys would mind the extra chapter :0) Let me know what you think._**


	14. Forever

It was about eleven thirty when Casey and I both made it downstairs to the party. Casey went to go and find Ashleigh while I mingled among the party-goers. Of all people I ran into Rebecca.

"Hey Cap," she said greeting me.

"Hey, how are you?" I asked.

"Pretty good," she replied. "I just stopped by to say hi. I'm on my way over to the Omega Chi house."

"Why would you be going over there?" I asked with a confused look on my face.

"Because Evan and I are kind of a thing now," she said with a smile.

"Really?" I was pretty shocked. "I had no idea you two even talked."

"We've talked here and there ever since he helped me get my car out after it was towed for being double parked. Then we hooked up the night of the Gamma Psi fire and I guess that makes us kind of a thing."

I paused briefly taking in exactly what she was telling me. Rebecca and I have history of course and I still consider her a friend of mine so I knew as a friend I had to warn her.

"Evan's not really a good guy," I stated. "I would watch out."

"Just because you're upset with him for the prank on Officer Huck. If I told you we were a thing a month ago when you two were still friends this wouldn't even be an issue."

"I'm not just talking because I'm mad at him about the prank thing," I replied. "You of all people should know how he treated Casey when they were dating. I just don't think he's the greatest boyfriend and I don't want to see you getting hurt."

"Thanks for your concern Cap but I'm a big girl. I can handle it," she replied.

"Alright," I sighed. "But I'm here for you if you need anything."

"You're a great guy Cap. Casey is a lucky girl."

"Well I'm just as lucky to have her," I replied.

I had to catch myself because I almost told Rebecca that I was going to ask Casey to marry me tonight. But knowing she was on her way to the Omega Chi house and having Evan be the first to know didn't seem like the best idea.

"Well there's only fifteen minutes til midnight, I have to get over to the Omega Chi house," she said.

"OK, have fun," I replied giving her a hug.

"You too," she said backing away and heading out the front door.

I spent the next five minutes maneuvering around people trying to find Casey. I spotted Ashleigh and Fisher and made my way over to them.

"Hey guys, having a good time?" I asked.

"Of course," Ashleigh replied. "Kappa Tau New Year's parties are always the best."

"Have you seen Casey? I was talking to Rebecca for a bit and lost track of her."

"What were you talking to Rebecca for?" Ashleigh asked.

"I was warning her to stay away from Evan," I replied. "But she didn't want any part of what I was trying to say so I just wished her luck and told her I would be there when she needed me."

"You don't have much faith in Evan do you?" Ashleigh asked.

"After what he did to Casey I would think you would have even less faith in him than I do," I replied.

"Yeah, but over break Fisher and I went on a double date with Evan and Rebecca," Ashleigh stated. "And it surprisingly went really well. They really like each other."

"I guess I'll just have to believe it when I see it," I replied. "But it's almost midnight and I need to find Casey."

"She was talking with us but she excused herself to go to the bathroom," Fisher said.

"Alright, catch you guys later. Happy New Year," I said making my way towards the bathroom.

"One minute until the New Year!" I heard Beaver shout as I got to the bathroom door.

A couple of seconds later Casey came walking out. She smiled at me as I grabbed her hand and led her to a very special place for the both of us.

"You've been avoiding me," I said as I took her into the closet beneath the stairs and closed the door.

"Cap, I just had to go to the bathroom," she stated. "Why are we in the closet? We should be out there celebrating with our friends."

"But I want you all to myself," I said grabbing her waist and pulling her close to me.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven," we heard the people outside counting down until the New Year.

I looked right into Casey's eyes. As the countdown began we didn't take our eyes off of each other. I smiled as I leaned closer to her.

"Six, five, four, three, two, one, Happy New Year!" everyone shouted.

"Happy New Year," I whispered as I plunged my lips towards hers for a passionate kiss.

"Happy New Year to you too," she said softly as she pulled away from me.

My heart began to race as I thought about what I was going to do next. I took both of Casey's hands into mine and continued to stare straight into her eyes.

"Casey," I said taking a deep breath. "We certainly have a lot of history in this closet. The first time you rejected me. The second time I rejected you. But I think now it's about time the two of us get it right."

"Cap, what is going on here?" she interrupted me, I could hear the shakiness in her voice.

"Shhhh, just let me finish," I said bringing my finger up to her mouth.

All of a sudden my mind went blank and I wasn't sure what to say next. I just continued to stare into her eyes hoping the words would come back to my mind quickly. Thank goodness they did.

"Casey, you are all I have ever wanted in a girl. We have such a great time when we're together. The road trip we just took was probably the best time of my entire life. I don't think I have ever laughed so much with one person. We even had a great time with some of the difficult times we had like my horseback riding and skiing accidents."

Casey chuckled. I assumed she thought about both of those times and it made her laugh.

"I want the two of us to have times like those for the rest of our lives," I continued. "I never want to lose you again."

"Cap…." She uttered as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Shhhh," I told her again. "I have a confession to make."

She squinted her eyebrows in confusion to my last statement. At that time I let go of her right hand and reached into my pocket.

"I never returned the ring," I said pulling it out of my pocket.

I heard Casey gasp as tears broke free from her eyes and began running down her cheeks. I then tried my hardest to get down on one knee in the closet. It was a little hard in the cramped space and I found myself kicking some things out of the way as I did.

"I know it's a little fast," I said once on my knee and looking up at her. "But you've already been lavaliered twice and neither of them worked out. And with all the conversations and events we went through over break, I knew you were the one. Casey, I will never love another woman as much as I love you. And I promise to be there for you for the rest of my life. So I guess with that being said, will you marry me?"

I took the ring out of the box and began to place it on her finger awaiting her answer. More and more tears were now streaming down her face.

"You're right, it is sudden," she began to say.

My heart sank down to my feet. Maybe I shouldn't have been so confident that she was going to say yes. For a second I began regretting my decision to do this.

"But with the history we have and everything we have been through I am confident in saying that you are the one for me too," she continued.

"So…." I trailed off still looking up at her.

"So, yes! Yes I will marry you Cappie!" she exclaimed.

I put the ring all the way on her finger as I stood up and planted my lips firmly onto hers. She wrapped her arms tightly around my neck and pulled me deeper into the kiss. I used my thumb to wipe the tears off of her face as we pulled away.

"I love you so much," she said to me. "And I can't wait to be your wife one day."

"I love you too," I replied lifting her left hand up to my lips and softly kissing it. "And this ring should tell you every day how much I do love you."

Casey finally broke her gaze from my eyes and looked down at the ring.

"I can't believe I get to actually wear this now," she said. "I have to admit, I loved having the ring on my hand in Vegas, even if it was for only a few hours. When I woke up the morning after everything happened with the wedding and saw it on my hand my heart began to race with happiness. You're the one Cap. You've always been the one."

I leaned down and kissed her again.

"I will never get tired of kissing you," I said as I backed away. "I hope I made the beginning of 2010 as good as 2009 ended."

"No, you made it a hundred times better," she replied leaning her head against my chest.

We stood like that in the closet for several minutes. I could feel some wetness on my shirt so I assumed she was still crying tears of happiness. All I could do was squeeze her tighter and run my hand through the back of her hair.

"I love you sweetheart," I whispered into her ear.

Casey just squeezed me tighter as the door to the closet was swung open.

"Happy New Year!" screamed a very drunk Beaver.

Casey backed away from me and wiped the tears off of her face before turning around.

"Uh oh, something wrong?" Beaver asked.

"No, no, nothing wrong at all," said Casey still smiling. "These are tears of happiness."

Beaver brought his gaze towards me as to ask me what in the heck was going on.

"There you guys are!" said Rusty joining Beaver at the door. "I've been looking all around for you."

"Here we are," I said softly.

"Hey, why were you guys in the closet?" Rusty asked.

Casey held up her left hand to Rusty and Beaver to show them the ring.

"No effing way," said Beaver in shock.

"Oh my god you guys, congratulations," said Rusty as he came up and gave both of us hugs.

I watched Beaver disappear as Casey and I made our way out of the closet to talk with Rusty. It wasn't more than a minute later that Beaver and a couple of my other brothers came up to me and put a pillow case over my head.

"Sorry Case, we have to take him for a bit," said Beaver. "Kappa Tau rules."

"Oh, OK," said Casey who was in just about as much shock as I was.

The next thing I knew I was being led out of the house and down the path of the KT house.

"Guys, where are you taking me?" I asked.

"You'll see soon enough," was all Beaver replied.

After about a minute or two of walking I found myself slammed against a tree. Then Beaver held me down while my other brothers tied me to it. I tried everything I could to get out of Beaver's grasp but I failed miserably given the fact that Beaver is about a hundred times stronger than I am. Once they finished they took the pillow case off of my head. I found myself tied to the tree right in front of the ZBZ house.

"Alright, that was fun," I said with a laugh. "Now let me go."

"Sorry Cap, can't do that," replied Beaver. "The only person who can untie you is your bride to be. KT rules."

"I hope you're going to tell her I'm here," I stated.

"Eventually," was all Beaver said as he walked off with the rest of my brothers.

I should have expected this from my brothers. They were never ones to break KT tradition when it meant humiliating a fellow brother.

I had been out there for at least a half an hour I would guess. I couldn't get a good grasp on the time but that was my best guess. Rebecca came walking up the ZBZ path.

"Cappie? Is that you?" she asked walking towards me.

I put my head down in shame. Why did she always show up at the worst times?

"Yeah, it's me," I said softly.

"Oh my god," she said starting to laugh. "Here, let me help you out."

"No, you can't," I said stopping her. "Casey is the only one who can untie me. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I came back to pack an overnight bag. Evan and I are getting a hotel room. The Omega Chi house is way too loud."

"Well have a good rest of the night," I said to her.

Rebecca began to walk away when she gasped and turned back around towards me.

"Wait a second," she said. "You're tied to this tree because you lavaliered Casey tonight!"

"Not exactly," I stated. "We're engaged."

Rebecca coughed as she had choked on her own spit.

"Excuse me? Haven't you guys only been dating for like a month?" she asked.

"Yeah, but we're meant for each other and we both know it," I said. "And it's a long complicated story that I don't want to get into."

"She's not pregnant is she?" Rebecca asked.

"No, of course not," I replied. "We're just in love. That's all there is to it."

"Well congratulations I guess," she said. "I wish you two all the happiness."

"Thanks Rebecca," I replied. "And can I ask you a favor?"

"I'll keep this from Evan until the candle passing ceremony," she said reading my mind.

"Thanks," I replied smiling at her.

"I'm going to go get my bag now. Hope Casey comes and finds you soon."

"Yeah, me too," I said trying my best to reposition myself on the tree. "Goodnight Rebecca."

"Night," she yelled as she approached the ZBZ front door.

Another five minutes or so had passed and I was still stuck to the tree. Rebecca had passed by me again with a small laugh as she headed back to the Omega Chi house. I pretty much felt like an idiot on display for everyone to see. But I guess that was the point of this: to show everyone that I was off the market officially and with the love of my life.

"Cap?" I heard her chuckle as she walked towards me.

"Oh thank god you're here Case," I said. "I'm like this close to losing my mind."

"Sorry it took me a while," she said coming up to me and untying me from the tree. "Beaver didn't really give me any clues as to where you would be. I checked the trees outside the KT house first and you weren't there. And then oddly I went to the Omega Chi house thinking your brothers would love to rub it in Evan's face for some reason. And finally I ended up here."

"Don't worry about Evan. Rebecca already knows so it's probably only a matter of time before he does."

Casey looked at me oddly wondering why Rebecca already knew.

"Long story," I said shaking my head. "Not worth the time telling it at this point."

At that time I became completely free from the tree and immediately wrapped my arms around Casey.

"Thanks for rescuing me," I whispered in her ear.

"You're welcome," she replied.

We both began to kiss and I slowly lowered us down onto the grass. Eventually we were both lying on our backs looking up at the stars, my arms wrapped tightly around her.

"This has been an absolutely crazy Christmas break," Casey said squeezing my waist.

"No kidding," I replied. "I can't believe it all ended with us getting engaged. If you would have told me this is where we would be when you first got into my Jeep on our way to Indianapolis I would have laughed and questioned if you were on some sort of drugs or not."

Casey laughed.

"I guess it just takes some time away from your normal surroundings to realize how you really feel," she replied.

I turned her head so I could look into her eyes.

"Look Case, I know this whole thing is probably not going to be easy for us. I still have no idea what I want in my future other than you. I just have to ask you to bear with me while I figure it out. In all honesty I'm probably not going to graduate at the end of next semester like you are. I just hope that doesn't screw things up for the two of us."

"Cap, you waited for me for two years," she replied. "If I have to stay here and find a job or go to grad school then that is what I'm willing to do. Understand that you are my main priority right now. That's why I'm wearing this ring. We're in this together."

My heart began to beat rapidly as she held up her hand with the ring on her finger. It was absolutely gorgeous on her and everything I could have hoped for it to be. I placed my hand behind her neck and pulled her down to me for a soft kiss.

"I love you Casey," I said. "And nothing is ever going to change that."

"I love you too Cap," she replied. "Forever."

The two of us just laid outside in the grass for several more hours. Sure it was a little chilly out but our body heat kept us warm as long as we were next to each other. All thoughts of the problems in our lives were out of our heads at the moment. None of that mattered. Evan didn't matter. The Gamma Psi fire didn't matter. All that mattered was that the two of us were together. And we had each made a commitment to each other to make it forever. Neither of us knew when we were going to get married or even where we would be at the end of next semester. But hearing that Casey would wait for me for once made all the difference. I didn't have to change for her. I could be myself and she loved me for who I was. That is all I ever wanted. It's all we both ever needed.

* * *

**_A/N: So that's the end....hope you guys liked it :0) As promised there will be one more epilogue chapter in the next couple of days so I guess it's not quite over yet.....LoL! Keep the reviews coming to let me know what you think._**


	15. Epilogue

Casey and I have been together for over a year now and things couldn't be more perfect. I'm still taking undergraduate coursework at CRU but am on track to graduate in the spring. Casey graduated last spring as planned. She now takes graduate classes part time at CRU. She also works part time for a politician's office helping with campaigning and organizing events. She really likes her job. Senator Ken Logan actually assisted her in getting the job since the politician she works for is one of his good friends. Evan and I still don't talk. Well, I take that back. I guess you could call the two of us civil but not really friends. Evan took Casey and I's engagement well which somewhat surprised me. I think if the two of us were still friends he might have freaked out a little bit more. But he said a cold congratulations to the both of us at Dobler's and I haven't heard anything about it from him since. Evan and his brothers did go and tell Dean Bowman they were involved in the prank after Christmas break was over. Since both houses were involved the dean ordered all of us to complete one hundred hours of community service which was quite possibly the worst time of my life. Instead of picking up trash which is something I'm an expert at, he had us all volunteer at a children's day care cleaning up. I had never seen so much vomit and disgusting things in my entire life. And I thought living at the KT house was bad! Dean Bowman reinstated Jeremy, Ferret and Wade which was a relief but he didn't allow any of them to rejoin Kappa Tau as further punishment for the three of them actually getting caught. You can't imagine how unfair I thought that was but there was nothing I could do. So we worked around it and still allowed the three of them to join everything we did as a fraternity just like they were real members. I thought they actually got the sweet end of the deal because they were able to do everything and didn't have to pay any dues. I guess it's the least we could do after everything that had happened.

The Gamma Psi fire was an interesting situation. Once it was announced the firemen found a candle in the house Casey freaked and turned her and her sisters in. I was proud of her but at the same time I felt like she was the biggest idiot in the world. Now I love Casey, more than anything, but if she could have kept her mouth shut a little while longer, nothing would have happened. A couple of days later the firemen determined it wasn't the candle that started the fire. One of the Gamma Psi sisters actually had a space heater on in her room that caused the fire to start. So Casey and the Zeta Beta's were off the hook for the fire but since Casey admitted to breaking into the house they still faced punishment for that. Instead of giving them community service Dean Bowman ordered the Zeta Betas to work closely with the Gamma Psis to help raise money to get their house back. They were busy almost the entire semester organizing events and fundraisers trying to raise enough money to rebuild the house. Thankfully they raised enough money and the house was rebuilt over the summer and the Gamma Psis are back living in it.

Casey and I spent last summer together as much as we could. We went on a trip to Florida for a week together which was a great time. We sat on the beach for hours during the day and hit up the nightlife at night at several bars. Being away with her made me think about the road trip we took together and the great times we had on that trip. She also made a trip out to California to visit me while I made I couple of trips to Chicago to see her. One of them was a surprise trip she didn't know about and I have never seen her so excited in my life than when she saw me at her front door. Her parents were a little hesitant with the engagement at first since we had only been dating officially for a short while. But over the past year they have become more comfortable with it. I think them getting to know me a little bit better too has really helped. Our wedding is planned six months from now, May 2011. We decided to get married in the CRU area since we both live here and it would be easier to plan the wedding that way. It's not going to be a huge event, maybe around a hundred guests. But that really doesn't matter to me. As long as I make her my wife I couldn't care less if there was one person or one hundred people there to support us.

Casey and I live together off campus in Rusty and Dale's old apartment. Since Rusty is now Kappa Tau president he is required to live in the house. Dale ended up moving into a smaller apartment a couple buildings away from us with Calvin. They surprisingly make good roommates which I found odd given their very different upbringings.

I'm usually done with classes by three in the afternoon. I stop by the house a lot to hang with my brothers. I really do miss living there but I'm glad they still allowed me to be an active member since I'm still going to CRU for undergraduate classes. Today I didn't stop by the house though. I went straight home and began cooking dinner for me and Casey. Her last class ended at five thirty so I expected her home around six.

I'm really not much of a cook so spaghetti was my idea of making dinner for the two of us. I know Casey wouldn't mind though, she loves all the little things I try to do to make things easier for her. It was six o'clock on the dot when she opened the door to the apartment.

"Whoa, what's going on here?" she asked as she walked in and saw me in the kitchen.

"Please, do what the apron says before I explain myself," I stated as I walked over towards her in my 'Kiss the Cook' apron.

Casey smiled at me as she wrapped her arms around my neck and planted her lips softly against mine. I wrapped my arms tightly around her waist and pulled her closer to me to deepen the kiss.

"So you want to tell me what is going on now?" she asked as she backed away.

"Just thought I would make the two of us some dinner," I replied heading back into the kitchen. "Spaghetti. My specialty."

"Well I'm going to change into something more comfortable," she replied making her way towards the bedroom.

"It will be on the table when you're done," I called to her as I set the salad on the dining room table.

Casey came out of the room several minutes later in her ZBZ sweats.

"Much better," she said as she sat down at the table. "Everything looks and smells delicious Cap."

"Thank you," I replied setting the dishes of spaghetti on the table and taking my seat.

"How was your day?" Casey asked as she began eating her salad.

"Wonderful," I replied. "I take my last final tomorrow and then it's a nice long break for me."

"I took my last final tonight," said Casey. "But I still have to go into work over the break which sucks."

"You did take a few days off around Christmas so we can visit your family right?" I asked.

"Of course," Casey replied. "I wouldn't miss time with family for the world. Plus mom said she's got a bunch of wedding things she wants to show me and go over."

"I think your dad and Rusty and I will be as far away as we can during that time," I said with a small laugh.

"Now this is your wedding too," Casey replied. "I would think you would want to be involved in some of the decisions."

"Case, as long as I'm marrying you I could really care less what our wedding looks like," I said taking a bite of the spaghetti. "It doesn't matter to me if we have the purple or the white napkins or if I'm wearing a tux or a suit. The only two things that matter are that I'm marrying you and that you are in a beautiful dress. Those are the only two things I need."

"You really can't wait to see me in that dress, can you?" Casey asked.

"You have no idea how much I can't wait," I replied.

"Well I guess it's a good thing I'm keeping the dress at my parent's house," said Casey with a chuckle. "You may just tempt me to try it on early for you."

"Don't even put the thought into my head," I said shaking my head.

The two of us made small talk during the rest of the dinner. Afterwards, Casey had a glass of wine and I had a beer while we sat and cuddled on the couch. We stayed there for a couple of hours watching some of our favorite nightly television shows.

"I think it's about time I head to bed," said Casey with a yawn. "I have to be at work early tomorrow."

"Wait, you can't go just yet," I said as I stood up and went into the kitchen.

"Cap, what are you doing?" Casey asked.

I went to the refrigerator and pulled out a strawberry pie and grabbed a couple of forks on my way back over to the couch.

"Strawberry pie?" Casey asked as I set the pie down on the coffee table. "I don't think we've ever had strawberry before."

"First time for everything," I said as I took a piece of strawberry and brought it up to her mouth.

Casey opened her mouth wide as I placed the fork in her mouth.

"Mmmmm," she said. "This is delicious Cap."

"Thank you," I replied with a smile.

"Is this like our end of the semester celebration pie?" Casey asked as she took another bite.

I gave her a shocked look.

"What?" she asked, confusion written all over her face.

"You really don't know what today is?" I asked.

"Not really," Casey replied shaking her head.

I set the fork down and took hers out of her hand and sat it down next to mine. I then wrapped my arms around her neck and gave her a soft kiss.

"Happy almost wedding day," I whispered into her ear.

* * *

**_A/N: Well, that's the end! I hope you enjoyed the little epilogue. I thought it was needed to just kind of clear some things up. I'm open to any suggestions for future stories but of course I'll still continue with Rainbows as usual. Reviews welcome anytime to let me know what you thought of the story :0) Have a good New Year everyone! Almost January 25th!!_**


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